


World of Secrets

by StarWritingFlute200



Series: Glimpses [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Cannon, Dreams and Nightmares, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, It's a mix, Not Canon Compliant, Seer, Slow Romance, Young Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:35:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25242511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarWritingFlute200/pseuds/StarWritingFlute200
Summary: As Ella travels deeper into her time at Hogwarts, no one can doubt that the danger she sees is becoming more real with every dream. Her visions of the future are more vivid and go further into the future than ever before. Though she's excited to return to her true home, Hogwarts, her dreams show her that much like the year before, this year will not be easy to make it through. As her crush on Fred grows, school work piles up, and dreams threaten to take over her thoughts, Ella isn't sure she will be able to handle every event the year brings. Then when the Chamber of Secrets opens up, she begins to wonder: will she make it long enough to survive her World of Secrets?Updates every Monday!
Relationships: Arthur Weasley/Molly Weasley
Series: Glimpses [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1438153
Kudos: 1





	1. The Worst Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Harry Potter.

A girl rested during the hot summer day in a hedge. She remained very silent for fear the person she was watching might notice her. It wasn’t too often that she visited Number four, Privet Drive, but when she did she would watch a boy who was very much like her. She wasn’t stalking him or trying to be creepy, she just liked being near to something that was from her world. Harry Potter, or the Boy-Who-Lived, lived a life that was a near perfect fit with her life last summer. His stuff was locked away and all communication with their world was cut off. The thing that made their experiences most similar was that he was lonely and she was lonely. It made her sad to know she could never talk to him or give him company here. Both were cursed to live in alone when they were away from their true home. 

Ella Worthington had grown taller over the summer and her brown hair had grown longer. She seemed much older than she had when she left Hogwarts in the spring, yet it had only been a few months. Her sapphire blue eyes were much sharper and the last bits of shyness she had in the past few years were finally dissolving. She was becoming more confident and certainly smarter even though she was away from school. The world may not have known why this girl was learning during her summer holiday, but she knew and she was very close to what she had been waiting for.

In about a month Ella would be returning to school and returning to a place where she could use her magic. Ella had mentally prepared herself for a long time and she had finally reached a point where she could begin the magic portion of her training. Yes, Ella was readying herself to turn into an Animagus, something that frightened and excited the young witch. She loved the thought of being able to turn into an animal at will, but she knew the magic wouldn’t be easy. Adults had trouble with it, and she was only a third year. Not to mention what she was doing was illegal, but what’s life without a little risk?

Right now she wasn’t thinking about that though, she was looking at a sad, recently twelve year old who currently came outside to sit on a bench. It was moments like these where she wished she could tell him that he wasn’t alone and that his friends didn’t forget about him. She knew they hadn’t forgotten about him for two reasons. One was that Fred and George had expressed how worried Ron was about Harry not replying to his letters more than once. The second was because she had dreamt about who was taking them.

Ella still had her dreams. It was rather useless to believe that she would ever outgrow the trait now. The only thing different now was that she could take them more in stride than she used to. There was a time during the school year last year that she didn’t even want to leave her bed anymore because the dreams were too bad. That wasn’t to say that she didn’t wake up frightened, shaking, or yelling out in fear now; it just meant that she didn’t let it stop her from smiling in the day time. Ella was gaining more control over her dreams, she was getting used to the feel of them. It was like have a sixth sense that she finally had gotten under control for the most part. Though, Ella would be naïve to believe she’d fully mastered them.

“Happy birthday to me…happy birthday to me…” Harry sang softly to himself and Ella frowned at the poor boy.

“Yes, Harry, happy birthday to you,” she whispered wishing that she could take him with her when she left for the Burrow in a few hours. She watched the boy sit deep in thought staring into the hedge until he bolted to his feet.

For a moment Ella’s heart stopped, thinking she had gotten caught she was about to explain herself when she noticed his eyes weren’t on her spot in the bush. They were to the right of her. Turning to see what caused such a reaction out of Harry, Ella looked to the right of her.

A House-Elf stood beside her and looked at her at the same time with giant green eyes. It gasped and jumped backwards, but Ella was fast. She quickly grabbed on to the creature because she had seen him before. It was the Elf who kept taking all of Harry’s letters. The creature began to fuss and Ella was worried he’d make Harry come and investigate.

She gently put her hand over its mouth and whispered, “Shh, it’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you; I just want to talk.”

The House-Elf stopped struggling so much and Ella let it go, “See, I mean you no harm. Now, what’s your name?”

“Dobby, Miss. My name is Dobby the House-Elf,” said Dobby nervously.

Ella smiled, “Pleasure to meet you, Dobby. I’m Ella. I was wondering if you could tell me why you’ve been taking Mr. Potter’s letters.”

“Harry Potter must not go to Hogwarts! Bad things are to come,” Dobby whispered to her urgently. Ella looked at Dobby questioningly.

“What bad things are going to happen? He can’t just, not show up at the school. He loves it there, and I don’t blame him. Haven’t you seen what he lives with?” She reasoned with the creature.

Dobby shook his head fiercely, “Harry Potter mustn’t go; Miss. Ella shouldn’t either if she knows what’s good for her. Dobby will make sure Harry Potter won’t go.” Before Ella could say another word, the House-Elf disappeared with a crack. Ella let out a huff of air and turned around to see that Harry had gone inside.

_“Of course, I finally get ahold of the House-Elf and he only gives me more questions,”_ Ella thought ruefully. She made her way back home deciding it’d be better to make sure that she had all her things together instead of watching for Harry to come back.

As she walked home she saw Allison and her cronies walking towards her, but as soon as Allison caught sight of Ella they started heading a different direction. She had been frightened of Ella ever since she punched her last summer – such a fond memory. It was quite a walk to get back to her house, but Ella didn’t mind. She really liked having time to think about things like her friends, her school, becoming an Animagus, or her dreams.

Excited didn’t begin to explain how she felt about seeing Fred and George again. Going to the Burrow was a dream come true. It had been far too long since she was last there. She missed Mr. and Mrs. Weasley who were more like parents to her than her own parents were. The big thing though, was that she’d get to see Fred. At the end of the school year she had finally come to terms with having feelings towards him, but as the summer passed, she found herself falling for him more and more. Every time she got a letter with his signature her heart would flutter and she found herself wishing away the hours just so she could spend time with him again. Ella was worried that she’d give something away while being with him, but only time would tell for that.

“Oh, I see you finally decided to come home. When are _they_ going to take _you_ away?” Ella’s father sneered to her when she walked in.

“They’ll be here any minute. Don’t worry you can continue on like I don’t exist soon enough,” Ella snapped back at him. She had reached a point where she no longer considered her family to be just that. As far as she was concerned, she was as much of an orphan as Harry.

Ella ran up to her room and dragged her trunk down the stairs. She watched as her father went up the stairs and into his bedroom with her mother. They wouldn’t be out until Ella was gone, she was sure. Next she brought Rowena and her cage downstairs. Rowena hooted happily at being with Ella. The owl was very happy to get to be with her all summer, which it didn’t get to do last summer. Ella had a rather heated fight with her parents after getting off the train to get Rowena to stay with her. In the end, she was victorious.

A knock sounded on the door and Ella rushed forward to open it, “Hello Mr. Weasley!” She said after opening it. He stood outside with a fatherly smile on his face, waiting for Ella. She looked behind him and saw a Ford Anglia, but no red headed boys.

“Hello, Ella, so good to see you again. Fred and George couldn’t come because they got into a spot of trouble back home and Molly was having them clean up the mess,” Mr. Weasley said with a laugh and Ella laughed with him. Mr. Weasley grabbed her trunk for her and Ella grabbed Rowena and her cage.

“I’m going now! Won’t be back for another year…a lot can change in a year! I could possibly die of a rare, unheard of disease in that time! …Nothing,” Ella mumbled after trying to get some sort of response out of her parents. Mr. Weasley said nothing, but she could see the disappointment he had in her parents. She didn’t think she’d get a response anyways, but she felt the need to at least try.

They carried Ella’s things out to the car and just before they left Ella looked at Rowena and asked, “How would you like to fly instead? You could meet us at the Burrow instead of sitting in a car.” Rowena hooted affectionately as Ella unlocked her cage and let the barn owl out. With only a nuzzle goodbye, the owl took to the air. Shortly, Ella followed her pet forgetting about the horrible people who never gave her the time of day and could think only of being with her real family once more.


	2. Dobby's Warning

Ella arrived at the Burrow just as the sun was setting. The car slowly came to a stop several steps back from the home, and Ella caught sight of two boys running out of the house and towards her. Fred and George Weasley had grown since the last time she saw them, then again she knew she had as well. They were getting older, something Ella couldn’t have imagined several years ago – knowing people so well she could tell each little change. Both were smiling widely by the time she got out of the car and they were face to face.

“Hi Ella,” they chorused making her laugh.

“Hello, you two. Heard you got into a bit of trouble, what is it this time?” Ella asked trying to sound annoyed but her grin gave away her true feelings. She loved watching the two play pranks, and sometimes jumped in the fun herself.

“Filled that thing you got us with mashed potatoes,” George told her.

“Mum accidentally sat on it,” Fred continued.

“Wasn’t a pretty sight,” they finished together.

Rolling her eyes she said, “Well of course not, why did you even think filling it with mashed potatoes would be a good idea?”

George shrugged, “We were only experimenting really. It was more of a thing to keep us occupied before going to get you.”

“Then it was the reason we couldn’t get you, ironic, huh?” Fred laughed and Ella found herself laughing with them as they entered the Burrow. “In any case, we were trying to get Percy with it, but mum sat down first. She didn’t think that made things any better, though.” She took note of the way Fred had gone slightly red in the face while talking to her but brushed it off as nothing serious. Probably her imagination.

George continued, “I don’t see why we had to clean up the mess anyways. Mum’s the one who made it.”

Ella shook her head at him, “Of course, that seems completely logical, other than the fact you filled it with the mashed potatoes-”

“Oh, Ella, you made it!” Mrs. Weasley exclaimed happily as soon as she set foot in the house.

She wrapped Ella in a giant hug, “Hello Mrs. Weasley, it’s very nice to see you.”

“And you too dear. I hope the Muggles didn’t get you down too much…oh, and look how you’ve grown! You’re nearly as tall as the twins now. Not to mention you are turning into quite the beautiful young lady,” Mrs. Weasley gushed at her. Ella blushed furiously at the attention and mumbled thanks.

“Ella!” Ginny said coming into the room.

The girls hugged each other. Mrs. Weasley urged them to get Ella’s things into Ginny’s room before getting dinner. The two pulled the trunk up the stairs. The room looked like it did the last time Ella was in it during Christmas two years earlier. There were a few more posters of her favorite Quidditch team, but other than that it was very similar. Ginny herself was still very small, much like all the first years when they come to Hogwarts. Ella wondered for a moment if Ginny would sprout up herself in the next two years.

“We’ve got a few minutes before dinner’s ready and I’d like to talk to you before the twins steal you,” Ginny explained sitting down on her bed. Ella sat down beside her.

“Sounds good to me, how have things been here so far?” Ella asked.

Ginny shrugged, “Fine I suppose, Percy’s been behaving oddly by locking himself in his room, the twins have been up to their usual antics, and Ron is worried because Harry hasn’t answered any of his letters.” When mentioning Harry, a vibrant blush filled her cheeks. It was no secret that Ginny fancied Harry Potter. Not because she had met him but solely because he was the Boy Who Lived. Ella knew better than to come between a girl and her crush, though.

“I’m sure he’s alright,” Ella told her patting her shoulder. She nodded trying to hide her face in embarrassment.

“Girls, come and eat!” Mrs. Weasley yelled from down below. Ella’s grin spread from ear to ear. She had missed Mrs. Weasley’s cooking, really any cooking. Her parents weren’t really the homemade dinner type of family. She normally had to find something herself if she wanted to eat. She could already guarantee that Mrs. Weasley had made a feast for Ella because she was ‘much too thin.’

_“Harry Potter must not go to Hogwarts!”_

_“Bad things are to come!”_

_“You’ll be next Mudbloods!”_

_Ella’s head was spinning as voices shouted all around her. She couldn’t see who was saying what or where anything was even coming from, but that didn’t lessen the impact of anything being said. Ella could faintly remember the people’s voices who were saying these phrases, but the moment she thought she could connect a face to one of these voices, the entire memory would slip. All at once, couldn’t remember how these troubling phrases had been said at all. It was just noise cast into the darkness of the dream and her future._

_The nothingness she had been in originally began to melt away. She was now in a corridor in Hogwarts, though she didn’t know which. It felt as though the edges of her vision were blurred just enough that the hallway didn’t feel completely solid. Her thoughts couldn’t decipher which of the many twisting hallways in the castle would hold these horrors. The voices mingled with a hissing noise that made Ella’s hair stand on end._

_She moved closer to the wall in front of her, hoping to understand where she currently was inside the castle. There was writing on the bricks, fearsome writing. It read: THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE. As soon as her eyes left the last letter, screams echoed from around the room. She didn’t know whose they were. Everything was spinning again. Around and around and around._

The sun was peering through the window in Ginny’s room as Ella gasped awake. It had to just barely be dawn, but Ella didn’t care. She needed to get out of their house and get some air. She grabbed the robe that hung on the edge of her bed and threw it over her pajamas to keep the morning chill away. Careful not to wake Ginny, she snuck out of the room and outside.

The morning breeze ruffled her hair as she sat in the yard in front of the Burrow taking deep, calming breaths. She was used to the dreams by now, but sometimes they were a bit too frantic for her taste. She hated when they got too overwhelming, but it was rare that she’d have to actually leave an area because of them. She wished she could remember the writing on the wall, she knew it said something sinister, but she had no recollection of it. It was all frustratingly blurry.

“What’re you doing out here?” Ron asked, coming from behind her.

She turned around to look at the youngest Weasley boy, the one who fought Voldemort last year. He, too, was in pajamas covered by a robe. The boy seemed genuinely surprised to see her up at that hour.

Shrugging she answered, “Getting some air, how about yourself?”

He looked at the ground slightly embarrassed, “Waiting for an owl that’ll probably never come.” Ron sat down beside her.

They were silent for only a moment when Ella said, “He hasn’t forgotten you, you know. He could never forget you.”

Ron rolled his eyes, “I like to think that, but I just don’t know. Why hasn’t he sent me any letters back if he wants to be my friend?”

“You’ve heard of our Muggles, they’re not the nicest bunch to live with. Granted, we’ve both met Draco so not all Wizarding families are great too, eh? Remember last summer when I had to send Rowena to the Burrow all summer? I have a feeling my family isn’t the only one too keen on mailing letters.”

“I suppose, but I don’t understand how you stay in contact without owls.”

Ella laughed, “I’ll tell you more about it when your dad isn’t around to ask me a million questions about it and I’m more awake. In any case, trust me when I say he’s probably dying to see you as much as you’re dying to see him.” It also helped that she knew his mail was being intercepted by that house elf.

“I do trust you; I remember your thing with dreams. I’d be stupid not to trust you,” he insisted. Ella let out a rueful laugh.

“Can’t see everything Ron, knowing Harry hasn’t forgot you is just common sense. I’ll admit, I thought the twins forgot me last summer. I believed at times I’d wake up and Hogwarts had been some magnificent dream.”

The boy looked over at her and said, “Fred and George could never forget you. I don’t understand how you could imagine Hogwarts though, it’s so amazing.”

“It is, but it was a dream come true. Without Rowena it was hard to believe I’d gone to a place like Hogwarts. I thought I was just having a weird dream, but then I’d see my trunk and know it wasn’t something I dreamt up, it was real.”

“You could look at the bracelet too. That would remind you of my brothers,” Ron chipped in helpfully.

“Yes, that too, I never take it off,” Ella said glancing at the bracelet circling her wrist.

“We should probably go inside before mum goes into a state with you missing,” Ron said, and Ella knew she wouldn’t necessarily go into a state, but she would be worried.

The rest of the day was spent doing some chores and playing wizarding games. Ella loved them. Exploding snap and Wizard’s chess were her favorites, but she was very good at Quidditch as well. She knew she’d never be able to play on the school’s team though, but that didn’t matter to her. For the briefest moment, Ella had allowed herself to daydream about being on the team the year before, but that dream had quickly been crushed. Ella tried not to dwell on the things she couldn’t change about her life. Those sorts of thoughts would only hurt her more, and her dreams already gave her enough to deal with.

Everything was going fine until that night when Mr. Weasley arrived home. He looked very worried and glanced nervously at all the people in the room. Instead of telling everyone right away was wrong, he sat down in a chair and took off his glasses.

“Arthur, dear, what’s the matter?” Mrs. Weasley asked him, setting down a plate of food.

“Harry Potter was caught using magic yesterday evening. I don’t know why but the Ministry sent him a warning about it, heard the news while leaving. Very odd,” Mr. Weasley told them all. Everyone seemed shocked that Harry would do that except for Ella. She had a sinking suspicion that a certain House Elf had something to do with that magic.

“Kids why don’t you all go to bed, it’s getting late,” Mrs. Weasley said to them all. Grumbling, they all complied. The twins put up the most fight. They insisted they had a right to know what happened to him and that they all should go get him. Ella would’ve helped them, but she was too busy wondering about Dobby.

That little elf seemed to be determined to keep Harry out of Hogwarts. Dobby was even willing to take such extreme measures that he could’ve got Harry expelled from the entire school. Even more so, he warned her to not go as well, which she wouldn’t do. Hogwarts was their home; they couldn’t stay away. She and Harry needed this school like they needed air. Their lives only improved being in such a magical place. Dobby saw it differently though as did her dreams. They all screamed that bad things were to come, but how could she just stay away from her true home? Not possible; no way.

The next day they all waited for Mr. or Mrs. Weasley to do something to get Harry. Mr. Weasley just went to work while Mrs. Weasley cleaned up around the house nervously. Everyone was getting tense over the boy who supposedly used magic outside of school. They went through dinner and Mrs. Weasley informed them that Mr. Weasley wouldn’t be home until the next morning. After dinner Ron, Ella, Fred, and George all met in Ron’s room.

“I can’t believe that mum and dad are doing nothing about Harry-”

“He could be hurt or in trouble or something and no one is trying to help him!” George finished for Fred. They were worried and thinking about why Harry may have used magic. Ron nodded vigorously.

“Hold on you three, I think we’re blowing this a little out of proportion. Obviously, if something was truly wrong the Ministry would’ve seen to it or, at the very least, your parents would have. He’s the Boy Who Lived for crying out loud, they would do something if he really was in danger,” Ella tried reasoning with them. She had an odd dream the night before where she saw the twins driving a flying car and definitely didn’t want that to become a reality.

Fred looked downcast, “I suppose you’re right.”

George nodded, “Besides what could we do anyways?”

“Well definitely not take the Ford Anglia and fly there. That’d be stupid,” Ella said under her breath.

“That’s brilliant!” Ron exclaimed.

She looked up shocked, “No, no it is not! You can’t just fly your dad’s car to Harry’s house. You don’t even know where he lives!”

“Then we’ll just have to fly around until we find it,” Fred argued. “We’ve got to do it Ella, we haven’t heard a thing from him this whole summer.”

“He’s fine though, I know he is,” she countered.

“Because of your dreams? That’s hardly enough to go off of,” George said rationally.

Ella shook her head, “No, I know because I’ve seen him. He’s got a lot of chores but overall he’s as good as I am at my house. No life-threatening danger.”

Fred’s eyes grew wide, “You know where he lives?”

Her hand covered her mouth and her eyes grew wide, “I didn’t say that.”

“No, but how else could you see him doing chores?” George asked her and she chided herself for saying something so stupid.

“We’re going to do this with or without your help, so you might as well help us out, so we don’t get lost or crash,” Fred said to her and she groaned.

“Fine, I’ll give you directions.”

Ron smiled from ear to ear, “Thank you so much! You’re great!” Ella then proceeded to give them directions to Harry’s house based off the directions she had to hers. They kept whispering their thanks to her as she did this, but she was wondering how she was even able to do it. Her curse should’ve prevented that, but it didn’t and she was curious as to why. It was possible that the only way the dream would come to pass was if she gave the idea. Was that how she was able to say it and not be hurt? The thought made her both curious as well as frightened about the limits to the curse’s leniency.

“There’s just one more favor we need to ask of you,” George said getting into the car with Ron and Fred.

Ella groaned, “What else? I’ve already told you this is absolutely stupid and I’m an accessory to the crime just for giving you directions. What more could you possibly need me to do?”

George responded, “Keep mum from knowing?”

“No, no way, I won’t do it. No, no, no.”

“C’mon, you’re the only one here who can,” he replied.

“Your mum will already hate me for letting you go through with this. I can’t attempt to deceive her even more,” Ella told him desperately. She hated the thought of her mother-figure hating her for this. The twins were putting her in a rather awful position.

Fred laughed, “Relax, she loves you like you’re one of her own. She’ll be mad at us if we’re caught, but not you.”

She sighed, “Alright, I believe you and I’ll do it, but you owe me big time Fred and you too George.”

“Of course,” they said at once. Ella watched as they flew off and silently wished them good luck. 


	4. The Burrow

Ella went to bed shortly after the boys left. After all, it was only about midnight and Mrs. Weasley would not be up anytime soon. Around five o’clock she heard someone stirring below and ran downstairs. As she moved through the house, she could tell the boys were still not back, but Mrs. Weasley was certainly up and about.

“Oh hello Ella, I didn’t expect to see you up so soon,” Mrs. Weasley said catching sight of her coming down the stairs.

She finished going down the steps and told her, “I was just having a little trouble sleeping, nothing too big. What are you doing up this early?”

“Tidying up a bit before breakfast, you know how it goes. I left a right mess before going up to bed last night so I needed a head start today to fix that up,” she explained and Ella found herself panicking slightly. How could the twins, Ron, and Harry all get in unnoticed if Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen.

“I could do that for you Mrs. Weasley, no problem. It’s the least I could do after all you’ve done for me. You’ve done so much and I don’t feel like I’ve shown my gratitude enough, so you go right off to bed and I’ll finish cleaning up,” Ella stammered and stuttered to her hoping that it was enough.

Mrs. Weasley smiled kindly at her, “It’s no bother Ella. I enjoy having you here and knowing the twins have such a sweet friend. You’re a role model for Ginny and a brilliant young girl. You show your gratitude enough, I can see it just in your eyes. If you really do want to help, you could get the twins and Ron up so they can de-gnome the garden.”

“Well, you see, I think the three of-of them are really tired and they could use the extra bit of rest,” Ella stammered once more.

Their mother looked suspicious, “I don’t really believe that, I’ll go get them up myself.” Mrs. Weasley began to climb the stairs and Ella followed behind her anxiously.

“Fred, George, wake up,” she said knocking on their door. When no response came she opened the door to find their beds untouched. Instead of asking Ella anything she went up the stairs into Ron’s room to find it the same.

“I…I can explain,” Ella said trembling. She was terrified that Mrs. Weasley would be angry. It didn’t matter that Fred assured her she wouldn’t blame her.

“What did they do?” Mrs. Weasley sighed.

“They were worried about Harry so they decided they had to go get him. They didn’t really know how they were going to do it, but they decided they needed to. I was so stupid and mentioned the Ford Anglia and how they should not fly it, but they obviously didn’t hear the _not_ part of that. They were going fly around aimlessly without directions to Harry’s house but I very well couldn’t let them do that and risk them crashing or being seen, so I gave them directions to Harry’s house since it’s only a few miles from my own home. I told them it was stupid, I really did. I told them and told them and told them, but they wouldn’t listen. I’m so very sorry Mrs. Weasley, please don’t be angry with me,” Ella begged.

“Sit,” Mrs. Weasley ordered pointing to the bed. Ella did as she was told and Mrs. Weasley sat down beside her. “Ella, sweetie, I could never be angry with you nor the twins or Ron to be honest. Sometimes I’m a bit stern, but I’m sure you tried your hardest to keep them from going and that’s what matters. Boys will be boys, not that I’m going to let them off easy because of that. No, no they’re in for quite the earful when they get back. The truth is Ella, I see you as though you were as much my child as Ginny or Percy or even the twins, and I know Arthur does as well. C’mon, let’s go get you some breakfast then we’ll deal with the boys.”

Ella sat down and ate her eggs and sausage without saying much. She was glad that Mrs. Weasley wasn’t angry with her, but she was seething at the boys. Just as she finished cleaning, the car touched down in front of the house. The boys were beginning to get out when Mrs. Weasley marched out of the house. Ella followed behind her.

Mrs. Weasley was marching across the yard, scattering chickens, and for a short plump, kind-faced woman, it was remarkable how much she looked like a saber-toothed tiger. Ella mouthed I’m sorry to the twins from behind her.

“Ah,” said Fred.

“Oh dear,” George said.

“ _So_ ,” she began angrily.

“Morning Mum,” George said triumphantly. Ella was mentally kicking him for even using that tone. It was stupid when she was obviously very, _very_ angry.

Mrs. Weasley’s voice was in a deadly whisper, “Have you any idea how worried I’ve been?”

“Sorry mum but you see we had to-” Fred began but the look on her face stopped him almost immediately. Every one of those boys was cowering in fear of her.

“ _Beds empty! No note! Car gone-could have crashed-out of my mind with worry-did you care?-never as long as I’ve lived-you wait until your father gets home, we never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy-_ ”

“Perfect Percy,” Fred muttered under his breath, Ella winced.

“YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY’S BOOK!” Mrs. Weasley yelled at him while prodding a finger at his chest. “You could have died, you could have been seen, you could have lost your father his job! Not only that, but you leave poor Ella to cover for your stupidity! She was practically in tears when I found out – frightened! What kinds of friends do that to each other?”

She continued on for a while longer, but Ella was more focused on Harry. He seemed just fine and she wanted to know if the house elf had anything to do with the incident with magic. She’d have to ask the twins later.

After all the boys had had an earful she turned to Harry and said, “I’m very pleased to see you, Harry, dear. Come in and have some breakfast.”

As they walked in Ella fell in line with the twins, “I tried to stop her honestly, but you know, she’s a bit relentless. Didn’t believe me when I said you were all tired and wanted sleep, she checked your rooms and after that there was nothing I could do.”

“It’s not your fault, we should’ve known we’d get caught,” Fred said nonchalantly while George yawned.

“Think mum will let us get some sleep?” George asked her.

Ella laughed, “Not a chance.” The twins groaned and Ella snuck upstairs. She wanted to get dressed and felt like there still may be more yelling before breakfast was over. She got up to Ginny’s room just as Ginny was going downstairs. The younger girl was moving so fast that she barely had time to say that Harry was down there.

By the time Ella had gotten dressed Ginny had scrambled back into the room. She looked absolutely mortified. She shut her door and slid down it putting her head in her hands. Ella felt bad that she ran downstairs in her nightgown not knowing the boy she fancied was right there.

“I’ve made a total fool of myself, he’ll never like me now,” she moaned.

“Don’t say that, I’m sure everything will be fine,” Ella told her offering the girl a hand. Ginny took it and Ella helped her up.

Ginny groaned, “He saw me in my night gown, how am I supposed to live with that?”

She laughed, “He’s a boy, he probably didn’t even notice. Boys can be idiots like that. Now, I’m going to go downstairs, why don’t you get dressed and then we’ll play a game of Wizard’s chess or Exploding Snap?” Ginny nodded and Ella left to go downstairs.

On her way, she passed by Percy’s room and the door was open. She had rarely seen him in her time there even though she did like him a bit. Sure, he could be very pompous and stuck up at times, but if you got past that, he wasn’t all that bad. He was walking out at the same time she was and they nearly ran into each other.

“Oh, sorry Ella,” he said.

“It’s fine, how’ve you been? Ginny said you’ve been acting odd,” she told him curious about it.

Percy chuckled, “No more odd than usual, I’m sure. She’s just being silly, nothing is different. I’m just sending some rather important letters.”

Ella nodded though she wasn’t entirely convinced, “Right, are you sure it has nothing to do with a girl or something?”

His face burned a vivid pink, “You can’t use your dreams against me like that!”

She laughed at how flustered he was, “It looks like I don’t have to.”

“Times like these I see why Fred and George like you so much. You’re too clever for them to ever get bored around you,” he said with a chuckle.

“Well, thank you. That’s actually a very nice compliment,” Ella said with a small smile.

“Don’t mention it, and please don’t mention the girl. I’d never hear the end of that,” he groaned.

“I’m not that mean. I don’t think I could let that information slip. It’d be awful for you if they knew; so I’ll keep this information to myself. No problem at all,” her face held nothing but sincerity. She wouldn’t let his secret fall into Fred and George’s hands. That’d be just cruel.

By the time they had finished talking, Ginny had caught up with Ella and they went to go downstairs. They were chatting a little about what game they’d rather play when the front door slammed shut. The girls glanced at each other.

“Dad’s home,” Ginny said and she began to rush down the stairs a bit faster. Ella caught her right before she made her way into the open and held her back.

“We can’t go out there,” she started, “your mum is going to be furious with your dad about his flying car. If we go out there we’ll be right in the midst of it.” Ginny nodded in understanding and they peeked around the corner to see Mr. Weasley slump down into a chair. Harry, Ron, Fred, and George all came in to see him. The girls turned around the corner again to avoid being noticed by any of the party.

“What a night,” they heard him mumble. “Nine raids. Nine! And old Mundungus Fletcher tried to put a hex on me when I had my back turned…”

Fred or George spoke up next, “Find anything, Dad?” Ginny and Ella listened intently as he told the boys about the shrinking keys and Muggle-baiting. They were just about to join in the conversation when a shrill voice came out of nowhere.

“LIKE CARS FOR INSTANCE?”

“C-cars, Molly, dear?” Ella felt bad for Mr. Weasley at that point. She couldn’t see her face, but Mrs. Weasley must have looked absolutely terrifying to invoke that reaction out of him.

Mrs. Weasley continued, “Yes, Arthur, cars. Imagine a wizard buying a rusty old car and telling his wife all he wanted to do with it was take it apart to see how it worked, while _really_ he was enchanting it to make it _fly_.”

“Well, dear, I think you’ll find that he would be quite within the law to do that, even if- er- he maybe would have done better to, um, tell his wife the truth…There’s a loophole in the law, you’ll find…As long as he wasn’t _intending_ to fly the car, the fact that the car _could_ fly wouldn’t-”

“Arthur Weasley, you made sure there was a loophole when you wrote that law! Just so you could carry on tinkering with all that Muggle rubbish in your shed! And for your information, Harry arrived this morning in the car you weren’t intending to fly!” Mrs. Weasley shouted at her husband. Ella and Ginny winced at her tone. It was like a knife.

“Harry?” Mr. Weasley asked blankly. “Harry who?”

Ginny rolled her eyes, “Harry who? Honestly, how many Harry’s could it be?” Ella chuckled.

“Good lord, is it Harry Potter? Very pleased to meet you, Ron’s told us so much about-”

Mrs. Weasley shouted, _“Your sons flew that car to Harry’s house and back last night! What have you got to say about that, eh?_

He sounded very excited, “Did you really? Did it go alright?”

The girls groaned and Ella turned to Ginny, “I think we should probably go before they bring this upstairs to us.” They climbed up the stairs to Ginny’s room and waited until they were both in to speak.

“I’ve never seen mum this angry before,” Ginny told Ella.

She laughed, “I don’t think anyone has flown a car either.”

“Well,” Ginny began, “I wouldn’t have put it past the twins to try.”

There were footsteps heading up the stairs. Ella motioned towards the door, “Who d’you think it is?”

Ginny opened the door a crack to glance out. Soon after, she slammed the door with an audible click. Ella could already guess that it was Harry and Ron who had gone up the stairs. The shuffling of feet could be heard going up to Ron’s room.

Both girls stayed silent for a moment until Ella joked, “Well, things just got interesting, didn’t they?”


	5. At Flourish and Blotts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella makes her way to Diagon Alley with the Weasleys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for how long this has been. Two weeks ago, I moved and thought it'll be alright, I can miss a week. Then last Monday my part of the US was devastated by a derecho, which I hadn't even heard about until it hit! 
> 
> I'm going to make it up to you all. I will be posting today, Wednesday, and Friday. Then we'll be all caught up!

Having Harry at the Burrow along with the Weasleys and Ella made mealtimes cramped, but that seemed to be the only time anything ever seemed different. Ella didn’t see much of Harry which was unfortunate because she wanted to discuss Dobby with him. Ron kept him pretty occupied as did the twins when they weren’t spending time with Ella. She spent the rest of her time with Ginny. The two girls becoming very close as more time passed. The unfortunate part was that Ginny refused to spend more time with Harry than she needed to, due to her face flushing every time she looked his direction. The twins could’ve told her whatever Harry had told them about the House Elf or how he got into trouble, but she wasn’t interested in secondhand information. She wanted to know whatever he was told.

Whenever she did see Harry, Ella could see herself in him. All the magical items in the house were mystifying. His face was constantly filled with wonder and disbelief much like hers when she spent her first Christmas at the Burrow. Even now, Ella still found herself staring at one item or another in absolute awe. Coming from a home so deeply rooted in anti-magic or mystical items somehow hadn’t managed to squash the two’s love for their world. She really enjoyed seeing more of the young wizard and being able to interact with him outside of school was nice. She’d been too worried to do much with him the year before, fearing her dreams. Now she was worried, but felt more confident that she could keep herself from discussing the future. Their talk at the end of the last year made her feel more connected to him.

Her nightmares were coming back again with more ferocity. For a while, they’d been mellow and calm, but that quickly took a turn for the worst. The closer she got to magic, the more the dreams latched onto the ability. The corridor with voices screamed at her every night and the hissing noises echoed in her head for hours after she had woken up. The blood on the wall made her own run cold. Despite this, she knew she was safe. Ella wasn’t at Hogwarts; she was at the Burrow. As long as she was here, she’d have nothing to worry about. The days until they went back to school were ticking away, meaning the danger only got closer. Still Ella tried to keep most of these thoughts out of her mind so she could enjoy her time with the Weasleys.

One day, she was sitting and reading a book Percy had given her in the Weasley’s kitchen, the only place currently unoccupied by any family member, when Harry came in. She was about to say something, but he hadn’t noticed her. He was probably a little lost since the house was so large.

Harry paused in front of a mirror that decided to reprimand him, _“Tuck in your shirt, scruffy!”_ He leaped away in shock and Ella couldn’t help but laugh. He turned to face her.

Ella stood up saying, “That caught me by surprise the first time too. You’d better do as it says, or it’ll get terribly angry.” Harry hastily tucked in his shirt. Ella looked at herself in the mirror.

 _“Very nice outfit today,”_ it told her politely. Ella smiled.

“Why did it compliment you?” Harry asked glaring at the magical mirror.

She smiled, “Because it likes me. Last time I was here it critiqued my hair for not being combed. I went and did as it asked, then showed the mirror. It liked that I actually listened.” 

The boy nodded and they both stood there awkwardly for a few moments. Ella was afraid if she asked Harry it would affect her curse. Then again, it happened in the past and therefore should be fair game for her. She hadn’t seen Dobby in any of her dreams, so it might have been a one-time occurrence.

“Have you seen anything about a House-Elf named Dobby in your dreams?” Harry asked hesitantly.

Ella looked at him in surprise, “Yes, I was going to ask you myself. I only saw what he did to you though, sorry to say. Did he tell you why he did that by chance?”

Harry frowned, “He kept saying I shouldn’t go to Hogwarts. Of course, I have to, but I didn’t understand why I shouldn’t. He never explained that much to me.”

“Dobby didn’t tell me why either. I found him wandering around my house lost. He was looking for you, but he felt he needed to warn me to not go as well. He seemed so panicked about it, I was so confused.” Ella only felt slightly bad about lying to Harry. She just felt as though telling him they lived close to each other was a bad idea.

He seemed to deflate as she told him, “I don’t understand. What’s going to happen this year?”

“I wish I knew, but hopefully it’s nothing. Just a weird creature who doesn’t know what they’re talking about.” Even as Ella said it, she wasn’t entirely convinced that was the reason behind Dobby’s warning.

“Hopefully you’re right. Are you sure you haven’t seen anything else in your dreams?”

Images flashed through her eyes of the corridor and the voices bounced around her skull. She looked at the young boy in front of her. His vivid green eyes were so open and innocent for someone who had already known so much pain. The look he gave her was one of trust and caring, but she still couldn’t tell him. He was finally away from his awful relatives – they both were – she couldn’t shatter the peace he’d been given. She wasn’t so lucky, but if she could spare him, maybe that would be for the best.

Besides, her curse surely wouldn’t allow her to reveal anything she’d seen. She couldn’t risk another episode like she’d had at the end of the school year.

“No, I’m sorry, but I haven’t.” He left the room shortly after and Ella wondered how long the guilty feeling in her stomach would last.

Life at the Burrow went on to be pretty normal, for a magical family that is. Everyone played Quidditch and joked around most of the days except for Percy who stayed writing letters in his room. One morning, the whole group received their Hogwarts letters and Ella smiled at getting to go back to the place where everyone went to buy magical supplies. Ella would get her Muggle money exchanged at the bank for her supplies. Luckily, her parents were still funding her education. 

The morning of their trip, Mrs. Weasley woke up all the children early so they could eat and get ready to go shopping. They would be traveling by Floo according to the twins and Ginny. Ella had no idea what that would be like. She had never travelled through a fireplace before. It was a frightening thought to her, but Harry seemed just as confused, which helped her.

Mrs. Weasley grabbed a small flowerpot and looked inside, “We’re running low, Arthur. We’ll have to buy more today… Ah well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!” Mrs. Weasley offered him the flowerpot. Ella was terrified. Neither of them knew what to do and they were supposed to go first. What if they got lost or roasted? None of the Weasleys seemed to notice the problem.

Harry stammered, “W-what am I supposed to do?”

“He’s never traveled by Floo powder,” Ron said suddenly. Ella let out a sigh of relief. “Sorry, Harry, I forgot.”

“Never? But how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?” Mr. Weasley asked Harry. Ella knew how, it was how she had got her things the last two years.

“I went on the Underground –”

Mr. Weasley quickly jumped in, “Really? Were there _escapators_?” Ella giggled next to the twins who looked mortified for the hundredth time over the fact Mr. Weasley was bringing up a Muggle item. Ella was just glad that Mr. Weasley seemed to prefer asking Harry all the Muggle item questions and Ella was asked more about Muggle customs.

“Not _now_ , Arthur,” said Mrs. Weasley. “Floo powder’s a lot quicker, dear, but goodness me, if you’ve never used it before –”

“He’ll be alright, Mum,” Fred piped up. “Harry, watch us first.” He grinned at Ella and made his way over to the pot. He took a pinch of glittering powder and stepped up to the fireplace. When he got there, he threw the powder into the flames.

The fire reared up around him and turned a brilliant emerald green. A color Ella had only seen matched by Harry’s eyes. He stepped towards the flames and Ella made a move to stop him, but George held her back. “Diagon Alley!” Fred yelled and promptly vanished.

Ella stared at the fireplace in shock, “Where’d he go?”

“Diagon Alley, silly,” George told her. “It’s really simple. You’ll be fine.” Ella nodded uncertainly. Something about stepping into a flame still unnerved her.

Mrs. Weasley was giving them tips, “You must speak clearly and be sure to get out at the right grate…”

“The right what?” Harry asked and Ella looked quickly to George. He just smiled at her and left himself. Ella was seriously beginning to panic, and Harry didn’t seem to be faring any better.

“Well there are an awful lot of wizard fires to choose from, you know, but as long as you’ve spoken clearly –”

Mr. Weasley grabbed a pinch for himself saying, “He’ll be fine Molly, don’t fuss.”

“But, dear, if he got lost, how would we ever explain to his aunt and uncle?”

“They wouldn’t mind,” Harry reassured her. Ella could understand that feeling. “Dudley would think it was a brilliant joke if I got lost up a chimney, don’t worry about that –”

Their mother-figure nodded, “Well…all right…you go after Arthur.” Mr. Weasley soon disappeared after his sons. “Now, when you get into the fire, say where you’re going –”

“And keep your elbows tucked in,” Ron added. Ella moved her elbows closer to her sides.

“And your eyes shut,” Mrs. Weasley advised. “The soot –”

Ron interrupted again, “Don’t fidget or you might well fall out of the wrong fireplace.”

“But don’t panic and get out too early; wait until you see Fred and George.” Mrs. Weasley said as a final bit of advice. By this time, Ella’s face was void of all color and she was near passing out. This didn’t seem to be easy at all. Eyes shut _and_ watch for the twins – how was she supposed to manage that?

Harry took a pinch of the Floo powder and threw it into the fire. As he stepped in and went to say Diagon Alley, soot got in his mouth and he choked on the words. He vanished from sight, but Ella could barely tell that he had said Diagon Alley.

“Was that clear enough?” Ella gasped in shock and fear. Percy, Ron, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley turned to her. She must have looked worse than she expected because Mrs. Weasley immediately was by her side.

“Oh Ella, dear, this would be your first time too, wouldn’t it?” She asked Ella in the motherly way she had.

Ella nodded but tried to joke, “If I get lost, my parents won’t mind either.”

Somehow that didn’t make Mrs. Weasley happy, “You can go next, you’ll be alright. I’m sure Harry is fine. Just try to breathe before stepping close to the fire so it’ll come out clearer.”

She looked at Mrs. Weasley and decided that she should at least try. Ella took a pinch of Floo powder between her fingers and stepped towards the fireplace. She took a deep breath and threw the powder into the flames.

“Diagon Alley!” Ella yelled stepping into the warm flames. Suddenly, she was spinning very fast as though a giant drain was sucking her down. For a moment, she was sure she’d be sick but then she caught sight of the twins and stepped in their direction. Ella spilled out of the fireplace and onto the floor in the Leaky Cauldron. Both boys stood above her looking down worriedly.

That’s when she started laughing at the ride she had there, “Wow, that was actually rather fun!” The twins laughed with her and each gave her a hand up.

“Ella? I thought Harry was coming after me,” Mr. Weasley said and Ella’s face paled.

“You mean…he’s not here?”

The twins and their father looked at each other. George said, “No, you’re the first person to come since dad showed up.”

She began to panic again, “But he came before me. He did say Diagon Alley, he just got a little choked up in all the soot. That couldn’t have been enough to actually lose him, could it?”

Mr. Weasley frowned, “It would appear so. Don’t worry, we’ll find him as soon as the others arrive.”

Within ten minutes, everyone was there and filled with worry about their missing companion. They all went into Diagon Alley and decided to begin searching there. Mrs. Weasley was frantic with worry. It was as though she had lost one of her own children. Ella felt comforted by that. After all she had seen of Harry’s aunt and uncle, it was nice to see a mother love him so much. Ella wondered if Mrs. Weasley loved her that much.

The boys all ran ahead of the girls after catching sight of Harry standing with Hagrid and Hermione. After seeing it really was them, Mrs. Weasley burst into a sprint dragging Ginny behind her while her handbag swung wildly. Ella jogged behind to keep up.

“Oh, Harry –oh, my dear –you could have been anywhere –” Mrs. Weasley gasped. She pulled out a clothes brush and began dusting him off like she’d done everyone else. Mr. Weasley took Harry’s glasses and repaired the cracks in them. Ella went to stand by the twins as they all watched Hagrid get his hand vigorously shaken by a very grateful Mrs. Weasley.

The large group made their way up the steps of Gringotts. Ella smiled at the twins who smiled identically in return. They would be going to their actual bank account while Ella would have to get her money exchanged. She stood in the line with Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Hermione seemed to be explaining to her parents all about the currency of the magic world and that Goblins were at work.

“Hello, Hermione,” Ella said nicely. She grinned back.

“Ella, nice to see you. Mum, Dad, this is Ella. She’s the Weasley twins’ friend and a grade above me. She’s top of her class in her grade while I’m top of mine. She’s got two non-magic parents like me as well,” Hermione explained to her parents.

Her cheeks burned pink, “I’m just a student, but it’s very nice to meet you. Hermione really is one of the brightest witches in the school. Perfect marks all around.”

Hermione smiled at her parents and they received their money. After Ella received her money, she left Gringotts feeling as though she had spent enough time around the creepy goblins. At least this year no one attempted to break into the bank. That, at least, was a small relief. When she got outside, she saw her friend Lee Jordan.

“Lee!” She yelled to get his attention.

When he saw her, he smiled, “Ella! There’s my favorite fortune teller!”

Ella playfully nudged him, “You know I can’t tell people what I see, Lee.”

He grinned, “Oh I know, but it’s a cool nickname for someone who can see the future. What are you doing here anyways?”

“I’m here with Fred and George and the rest of the Weasleys. They’re still getting money out of their vault. I was waiting for them to finish, but the goblins are a little too daunting for my taste,” Ella explained looking back where the creatures were.

Once again, Lee laughed, “Understandable! I see you’ve gotten taller and your hairs a lot longer. You look more mature. I sure hope you don’t act like it.”

“Me? Not a chance!” She told him laughing. The twins chose then to join them.

Fred and George said together, “Hey Lee!”

“Mum said we’re going to all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour,” George told her.

“And we’re not to go to Knockturn Alley,” Fred added mischievously. 

Ella smirked, “Good because I’d much rather go to the joke shop instead.” The boys groaned but went in that direction regardless.

As the group traveled about the store, Ella began to get a headache. Little flashes of the bookstore kept flashing in her mind. Harry standing next to a man named Gilderoy Lockhart while a man took their photos, Draco Malfoy sneering at the Weasleys, and other quicker flashes were some of the things she was seeing. She placed a hand on her head and held herself up with the other.

“Hey guys, I think we should go to the bookstore now,” Ella told the twins who nodded. They said goodbye to Lee and hurried over to the overly crowded place. They shoved through the hordes of witches who were trying to see Lockhart. They had just made it to the rest of their party when a masculine voice shouted over the noise.

“It _can’t_ be Harry Potter?” Gilderoy Lockhart was tall with flowing locks of golden hair and stunning blue eyes. His teeth were an unnatural white and the smile on his face was identical to the ones on all the books around him. It was rather unnerving to have three hundred Lockharts staring at her.

The crowd parted and before Ella could prevent it, Harry was being pulled towards the famous writer. The people surrounding them all whispered excitedly, but Ella silenced many of them with a glare. She knew Harry hated being famous and who wouldn’t in his situation? He was famous for his parents being killed when he was one. That’s nothing that people should cheer for.

“Nice big smile, Harry. Together, you and I are worth the front page,” Ella heard Lockhart say through his smile. Ella’s mouth dropped open.

“That git!” She hissed and a few women tutted at her for being rude and not having good taste. The twins just fumed along with her. Ron looked like he was torn between bringing Harry back and glaring daggers at Lockhart like Ella and the twins were.

When Lockhart let go of Harry’s hand, Harry tried to escape, but it seemed Lockhart wasn’t quite done with his claim to the front page. He grabbed Harry around the shoulders and proclaimed to the crowd, “Ladies and gentlemen, what an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I’ve been sitting on for some time!”

Everyone was quiet as Lockhart continued, “When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autograph –which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge –” Everyone applauded and the four who weren’t buying every word Lockhart said exchanged disgusted looks. “He had no _idea_ that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, _Magical Me_. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!”

“No way,” Fred scoffed.

Ella huffed at the same time, “How awful.”

Harry was given all the books and the crowd started to shift around everyone. Ella found herself knocked towards Harry and Ginny. She looked around but saw no sign of the twins at all.

“Bet you love that, didn’t you, Potter? _Famous_ Harry Potter can’t even go into a bookshop without making front page,” Malfoy sneered at Harry. Ella’s eye’s narrowed. She’d hated that kid with a passion ever since he’d arrived last year. He was the poster child for spoiled, pure-blood brats.

“Leave him alone, he didn’t want all that!” Ginny snapped and Ella silently cheered for her. She would’ve said something to her friend, but she was too busy glaring at the prat in front of her.

Malfoy laughed, “Potter, you’ve got yourself a _girlfriend_!” Ginny turned a fierce scarlet and Ella nearly punched Malfoy then. Ron and Hermione had finally fought their way over.

Ron shot Malfoy a disgusted look saying, “Oh, it’s you. Bet you’re surprised to see Harry here, eh?”

“Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley. I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those.” Ron turned as red as Ginny and would’ve beat Malfoy to a pulp if Harry and Hermione hadn’t grabbed the back of his jacket. Ginny was currently holding Ella back as well, but Ella knew that they equally wanted to knock Malfoy out.

“Ron!” said Mr. Weasley struggling over with the twins. “What are you doing? It’s too crowded in here, let’s go outside.” Ella, for one, thought that was a brilliant idea. Let Malfoy be trampled to death instead.

A snide voice came from out of the crowds, “Well, well, well –Arthur Weasley.” Ella had to assume this man was Draco’s father. He looked a lot like his son, sneer she wanted to slap off and all. “All those raids…I hope they’re paying you overtime?”

He reached into Ginny cauldron and pulled out a shabby looking book. Even compared to the books that Ella’s bullies destroyed, it was pitiful.

“Obviously not. Dear me, what’s the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizards if they don’t even pay you well for it?” Mr. Weasley flushed as deep as his children. Ginny had to double her efforts to keep Ella from now assaulting Mr. Malfoy. The twins seemed to be on Ella’s side though. It was their family being attacked, but Ella came from the Muggle world. She was practically being spat on by this man. Nevertheless, attacking a Ministry member could hardly be a smart idea.

“We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizards, Malfoy,” Mr. Weasley said.

“Clearly,” Mr. Malfoy said, then his eyes landed on Mr. and Mrs. Granger. “The company you keep, Weasley…and I thought your family could sink no lower –”

There was a thud of metal as Ginny’s cauldron was knocked out of her hands. Mr. Weasley had launched himself at Mr. Malfoy and all chaos broke loose. The twins were yelling, “Get him, Dad!” Mrs. Weasley was shrieking, “No, Arthur, no!” Ella was cheering along with the twins at the fight hoping that Mr. Weasley could do some lasting damage to Mr. Malfoy.

“Break it up, there, gents, break it up –”

Hagrid moved through the crowd and pulled both men apart. Mr. Weasley had a cut lip, but Ella was please to Mr. Malfoy had been hit in the eye. He thrust the book he still had in his hand towards Ginny. “Here, girl –take your book –it’s the best your father can give you –”

Ella looked at the books in Ginny’s hand and thought she say a tinted green aura around them for a split second. She looked up at Mr. Malfoy and caught his eye, anger and disgust written across his face. He then wrenched himself from Hagrid’s grip and swept out of the store with Draco. Ella looked back at the books, but Ginny had already slipped them into the cauldron.

“Yeh should’ve ignored him, Arthur,” said Hagrid. “Rotten ter the core, the whole family, everyone knows that –no Malfoy’s worth listenin’ ter –bad blood, that’s what it is –come on now –let’s get outta here.”

The left the shop and went up the street. Ella felt bad for Hermione’s parents who were practically shaking with fright. Mrs. Weasley was beside herself with anger. She hadn’t even been so angry when Ron and the twins flew the car to get Harry, and that was certainly saying something.

“A _fine_ example to set for your children… _brawling_ in public… _what_ Gilderoy Lockhart must’ve thought –”

“He was pleased,” Fred stated. “Didn’t you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the _Daily Prophet_ if he’d be able to work the fight into his report –said it was all publicity –” 

The group made it back to the fireplace and said goodbye to the Grangers. Ella was ready to return home, but something was different. It wasn’t a tangible difference, but somehow the air around the family felt thicker to Ella. She could hear Dobby’s warning echoing in her mind and the voices in the walls. They were getting stronger.

Ella didn’t like the change; she didn’t like it one bit.


	6. The Whomping Willow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ginny has been behaving strangely ever since they got back from Diagon Alley. Ella has also felt her mood dampening. She hopes everything will improve once she reaches Hogwarts, but as tempers flair, she begins to doubt if even Hogwarts can help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Harry Potter! As I stated Monday, here is one of the make-up chapters. The next will be on Friday and then we'll move to our regular schedule once more!

After the incident at Flourish and Blotts, time decided to move very fast at the Burrow. Everyone had their supplies and the days quickly ticked by until the time to go to Hogwarts had arrived. Ella was anxious to go back. Of course, she loved Hogwarts with all her heart; there was no place she’d rather be, but she had a bad feeling about this year. Everything was telling her that things were about to go very wrong, but she had no choice but to keep moving forward.

Ever since they returned to the Burrow, Ella’s nightmares had gotten worse. Every nightmare. Her Animagus dreams had been docile for the longest time, but even they came back with vigor. She woke up each morning feeling void of any energy and the twins took notice right away. They constantly were sending her worried glances and asking how she was feeling. Ella did her best to appear strong, but she felt her answers were not as upbeat as she wished they’d be. They hid nothing from the increasingly worried pair. All her energy was sapped, she may have even enjoyed the attention she was getting from Fred had it not been everything she was dealing with.

Ella wasn’t just worried about herself; she was worried about Ginny. She was right when she saw Mr. Malfoy force more than one book into her hand. Ginny was now peculiarly attached to a diary and Ella felt as though the diary was what was causing her bad mood. Every night, Ginny would write for hours in the journal and mutter to herself. At first, Ella hadn’t minded, but then as the nights went on and Ella’s dreams became worse, she knew something had changed. The shift in the air she felt at Diagon Alley had followed them and now it was absorbing Ella’s energy.

_“Hello? Fred, George, Ginny? Is anyone else here?” Ella yelled. She was in a corridor at Hogwarts and she could hear hissing echoing through the walls. It was getting louder; spiders raced in trails along the walls. The sight made her shiver in fear. She did not particularly care for the spiders._

_“Isn’t anybody here?” She cried out again. Murmurs of kill and death echoed from the hissing walls. Ella wanted to leave the hallway, but she couldn’t move. A hundred shadow-like creatures raced past her sucking out all the warmth. They left her depressed, scared, and cold._

_They brought the images forward for Ella to see. They blurred around her spinning at a dizzying pace. She couldn’t even see them, they were frantic and disorienting. The mass of visions pressed towards her taking her breath away. Ella couldn’t breathe; she was suffocating on visions of the future._

She jolted awake to see that the journal was sitting beside her. _How did that get there?_ Ella shoved it away from her onto the floor. She hated that little thing. It put her on edge. It sounded crazy to blame her mood on the little book, but she figured it may not be all it seemed. Ginny had barely spoken to her ever since the book came into her possession. She was being secretive and snippy with Ella in ways she never had been before. Ella’s mood had been getting worse as well. Waking up with the thing beside her just proved to that it was vile and her already bad mood darkened significantly, and the day had hardly begun.

Ella couldn’t understand how she could still be in such a bad mood after the night she’d had before. Mrs. Weasley had made everyone’s favorites for a last dinner, and Ella had stuffed herself full of each delicious part of the meal. There were jokes and stories coming from all around the table. Everyone was so happy that night, except Ella and Ginny.

“Rise and shine, girls!” Mrs. Weasley cried bursting through the door. Ginny jolted upwards much like Ella had done earlier. She looked around for her diary and saw it lying on the ground where Ella had shoved it. She scrambled to pick it up and then shot a glare towards Ella. Ella glowered back then looked away. She had no idea what was happening.

_We aren’t like this…_

Soon, the house was a chaotic mess of people rushing around to put their things into the trunks, eat breakfast, and ultimately, leave. Ella’s trunk was completely packed and she nearly collided with both Ron and Harry on her way back to Ginny’s room. She only needed to give her trunk to Mr. Weasley and then she’d be done with her scrambling.

As she entered the room, she noticed Ginny wasn’t there. She had gone to get breakfast and she’d be back soon. Ella saw Ginny’s knapsack sitting open on her bed. The horrible diary was sitting right on top.

A wicked idea entered Ella’s head, but she couldn’t possibly be that mean, could she? It was the diary’s fault that they were at each other’s throat. Nothing more and nothing less. Ella wanted to believe that, but a more rational part of her brain reproached her for thinking such things. People fight all the time; this was just a stupid, old book. A book couldn’t make her and Ginny fight. Nevertheless, Ella took the book and tossed it onto a pile of books Ginny had sat on her desk. She smiled triumphantly as she took her trunk downstairs. While on the steps, she passed Ginny.

“Mum’s in a foul mood, you’d better hurry up,” she said shortly. Ella didn’t even respond. She was convinced Ginny would be nicer after a while without her diary. Soon enough the entire group was leaving the Burrow and Ella released a sigh. Everything would be fixed soon; she was certain of it.

They filed into car, miraculously fitting the entire family and their two guests plus all the different animals. If Ella hadn’t already known the car was enchanted, she would’ve at that point. She imagined the whole this was like a clown car, and they would look absolutely astonishing to the Muggles at the train station when they all poured out into the parking lot. As the house began to disappear, Ella started to relax.

Her heart stopped when George realized he left some fireworks in his room. She thought Ginny would discover her diary was missing as well. That didn’t happen, nor did it happen when Fred forgot his broomstick. Ella finally decided she could relax as they neared the highway.

That’s when trouble struck.

“Mum! My diary isn’t in my bag. We have to go back,” she squealed. Before Mrs. Weasley could give her answer, Ella snapped.

“You don’t need that stupid diary; we’ll miss the train if we turn around. You can write on any piece of parchment. Even I can buy you a new book.”

Ginny wailed, “But I need my diary!”

“No you don’t!” Ella shouted back.

“Shut up,” she screamed back. The rest of the car had fallen silent at the two girls. No one in the car had ever seen the girls behave in such a way. They were seething with contempt.

Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat and addressed the girls, “Ginny, don’t worry, we can turn around to get your diary. Ella, don’t worry, we’ll make it in time.” Ella knew saying anything more would make her look crazy, so she just crossed her arms and sat against the seat. Ella didn’t want to say more and risk her friendship with the twins or connection to this family. She’d be completely lost without the Weasleys. It just frustrated her, this whole situation. She had been so close to keeping that book away from Ginny and the girl ruined it.

It was a quarter to eleven by the time they reached the station and Ella’s mood had only worsened since Ginny retrieved the diary. Ella’s mood wasn’t the only one that plunged. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had fought in the car on the way to the station and Ella was completely convinced that it was the diary’s doing. She’d never seen the happily married couple so tense.

Ella quickly moved through the barrier that separated the Muggle World from the Wizarding World, trying to distance herself from Ginny. She’d had enough of her for the time being and was exhausted from not sleeping well for who knows how many nights.

“Hey you! What’s the matter?” Lee asked, noticing the tenseness in Ella’s shoulders as she hopped on the train to put Rowena and her trunk on.

She sighed suddenly deflating, “I don’t know. I haven’t been sleeping well and I’m not even sure why. Nothing is clear in my dreams, it’s all a jumbled mess of nonsense.”

Lee frowned slightly, “Well, if the future is going to be unreadable then it’s its own fault.” Ella chuckled but didn’t say anything else. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley entered the platform and Ella hated the idea of not thanking them for their hospitality. Even when she was mad, she couldn’t be rude to the only family that loved her.

“Thank you both for everything.” Both parents gave her large hugs knowing what they meant to her.

Mrs. Weasley beamed, “No need to thank us dear. We’re always here for you. Now, go have a good term, send us a letter if you need anything, and keep those boys out of trouble!”

Before Ella could agree Percy interrupted, “Mum, where’s Ron and Harry?” The group looked around the platform but found no sign of either boy.

“Must have snuck onto the train without us realizing,” Mr. Weasley said shaking his head. “You lot better hop on before it leaves without you.”

Ella leaped onto the train with the twins at the moment it began to move. The three of them waved then made their way to find a compartment. Lee, Katie, Angelina, and Alicia were already in a very wide compartment and each of them made room for the twins and Ella. The six of them sat and started to spin tales of their summer to one another. At first, Ella listened fervently, but as the train picked up momentum, she was lulled to sleep by the swaying motion.

_When she opened her eyes, Ella stood in the middle of the Great Hall. Everything moved slowly around her, but Ella found that she could move with ease for once. Every student seemed to be in the Great Hall as well as people Ella had never seen before. Each of them were clad in what seemed like a uniform, but Ella had never seen those uniforms anywhere else._

_She slowly walked through the aisles of cheering students towards the front of the room. A great goblet stood tall and was emitting a large flame. Ella was transfixed by the sheer beauty of the magical object even though she didn’t know what it did. She had nearly reached the object when the scene disappeared._

_Ella whirled around to find herself on a dark street. It was late at night and not a soul was near her. She glanced around at some bushes only to find a giant black dog staring at her. Ella wanted to leap away but something compelled her to stay there. The dog looked at her with mournful eyes and whimpered slightly._

_“I’m sorry, I don’t understand you,” she whispered to the poor creature. He looked underfed and very dirty. He was certainly a stray, maybe even abused. The dog looked at her again with widened eyes and suddenly a light was reflecting off the dark space. She glanced all around and discovered that she was the source of the glowing._

_As she made this discovery, something burst from within her and bright lights circled around the area in the forms of animals. Ella spied a hawk, a snake, and even a rat. She laughed at a dolphin jumping in and out of the golden rays. A ball of golden light formed in a large circle around her and was forming into something. Ella took a hesitant step towards it wondering what animal it would be._

_She was startled to see that the circle became a golden version of herself. She peered at the image of her and found that the other form of her wasn’t a reflection, but an entity within itself. The golden Ella smiled at her and lifted her hand towards her. Ella’s curiosity grew exponentially at the sight of her form among the golden creatures. She suddenly knew that this was her inner-self, the Animagus inside of her. Ella raised a tentative hand towards herself and watched the other version of her smile with sincerity. The hands had nearly connected when the scene melted into a new form._

_Ella sat in the Ford Anglia surprised at being in the car once again. What surprised her most was that she was in the backseat this time while Ron and Harry drove the car. She couldn’t understand if she was seeing the future or having a normal dream. The vision started flickering, like a movie on fast forward. She listened to bits of the conversation._

_Apparently, this was bits of what was happening in the future and present. Ella discovered that Harry and Ron never made it through the barrier and on the platform. Dobby had locked the boys out of the Wizarding World so they decided to take the Ford Anglia to Hogwarts._

_She had no idea how either boy could be so stupid._

_Time flew past in flickering visions that led them to the castle by night fall. Ella released the breath she was holding, thinking that the two had made it safely. The engine spluttered and Ella’s eyes grew wide. Their engine died and the car was dropping out of the sky. Ella’s eyes clamped shut as her stomach entered her throat. She loved to fly, but falling was a different sensation entirely. The three people in the car yelled as they headed straight towards the castle._

_Ella flew to the other side of the car as Ron wrenched the steering wheel away from the castle. She heard the boys yelling and telling the car to stop. The kept flying and dropping._

_“WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREE!” Harry bellowed and Ella opened her eyes in time to see the car slam into the Whomping Willow. Ella was dazed from the impact the car had on the tree but even more so when the tree began attacking the car. Ella had seen the Whomping Willow move around before, but never to attack something like this. It was furious._

_The three occupants of the car were being batted around by the tree and Ella was wondering if the other two would make it out alive. In fact, she was curious if she would. She remembered reading once that if someone dies in a dream they die in real life. Ella thought about the friends who would be surrounding her real body and desperately hoped that wouldn’t happen._

_“Reverse!” Harry yelled all of the sudden. For some reason, the car decided to listen to him and shot backwards._

_Ron was panting by the time the car was a safe distance away, “That…Was close. Well done car.”_

_Before anything more could be said, Ella felt herself being launched out of the car with the two boys._

She sat up gasping in the train. The sun was barely setting outside of the window –a large contrast from the darkness in her dreams. Her breathing was as erratic as her heartbeat. Ella was slowly becoming aware of her surroundings and the people around her were asking her what happened and what she dreamt about. Her head was bowed as she connected everything she saw together.

Ella let out a laugh then looked up at the twins, “You’re never going to believe how your brother got to Hogwarts this year.”

The rest of the ride Ella explained to the others how she saw the boys traveling in the flying car to arrive at Hogwarts and their hasty landing into the Whomping Willow. As they all went to different areas to change, Ella heard mummers in the hallways of the news beginning to spread. The twins no doubt wanted to brag about their brother’s bold move.

As the train sped towards Hogwarts in the growing dark of night, Ella glanced out a window wondering how close Harry and Ron were to them. There was a possibility they were just above her window. The boys could be just out of her line of sight but following the train towards their home. Ella focused all her energy on that portion of her dream. She didn’t want to think about the goblet filled with fire or the students that didn’t belong at her school. She wondered what her golden dream meant. She had never seen that before, but she wasn’t frightened by that like she was the flashing images.

When the train pulled into the station, Ella was brought to the castle with all of her friends by the horseless carriages. The group hopped out just as Professor McGonagall walked up to them. She scanned the group until her eyes came on Ella.

“Professor Dumbledore would like to have a word with you,” McGonagall stated.

Ella was surprised, “After the feast?”

She shook her head, “Immediately.” Ella looked back at her friends who tried to look encouraging, but Ella knew they were just as frightened and worried as well.

McGonagall led Ella through the school and towards Dumbledore’s office. Ella was nearly positive that by her third year, she had been to his office more than some students ever would. Granted, most of those students weren’t able to tell the future like she could, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t go to the office for some other reason.

The student and teacher entered the Head Master’s office together and McGonagall sat Ella across from Dumbledore’s desk. The older man looked at the girl in front of him and smiled. His blue eyes twinkled at her like they always seemed to do.

“Hello Miss. Worthington,” he said happily.

Ella gave a shy smile, “Hello Professor, aren’t you missing the feast?”

He chuckled, “It hasn’t begun just yet besides there are more important things that need to be attended to at the moment.”

“Like what, Professor?”

“Well, I want to know how your dreams are faring. I was going to ask if anything occurred over the summer that needed to be dealt with.” Dumbledore’s eyes pierced through hers.

“Nothing new came up,” she told him, holding his gaze. She wasn’t sure if it was the truth or not, but she was hesitant to say what her dreams were telling her. She hadn’t seen much of anything that was an immediate threat. The future couldn’t be put in danger by anything she said either, that couldn’t happen.

Dumbledore looked at her as if he knew she was holding back, “Are you sure Ella?”

She took a deep breath, “Mostly all I ever see is sickening flashes. I can’t control what I see. The most I ever get are quick glimpses that I never understand. The images spin around me and are often urgent and send off a frightening feeling, but I can never grasp one long enough to know what it actually means.” Her tone gave away her frustrations. What was the point of having a power like this if she wasn’t able to control it?

The Headmaster sat back in his chair and chuckled, “I wondered if something like this would happen to you.”

“Something like what?” She asked feeling a bit miffed that he laughed at her.

“When you were younger, I’ll bet you had moments when your magic acted without being told to. You probably had many instances when you couldn’t control it necessarily or there was confusion because you didn’t know how to handle those abilities properly. Everyone goes through that,” he explained to Ella.

Her brows knit in concentration, “So you believe that the reason my dreams cause so much problems for me is because I haven’t learned control over them?”

“Precisely,” he stood up. “When you have an ability as powerful as your dreams, it naturally needs to be worked on and controlled. As you grow, your Seer abilities become more powerful, but you don’t know how to channel them properly, which causes them to be so frustrating and out of control. You need to learn control.”

“But how? Who could teach me to control my dreams?”

He walked towards the door, “The only person in the world that can control your dreams is you. No one else, to my knowledge, has this ability. You’re strong enough to command your dreams to do what you want them to. I’m afraid you’re the only person who could teach this because no one else knows what it’s like. Come along, we’ve got a feast to go to.”

Ella nodded and followed behind the Headmaster. Their talk left her uneasy. She could guess as well that she needed to learn control, but how was she supposed to learn for herself? How could Dumbledore not offer any kind of help in this matter? 

She ducked into the Great Hall and headed towards the twins as quick as possible. She didn’t like feeling all the eyes on her as she made her way across the room. The Sorting Hat had just finished it song, but Ella found herself unable to really focus on anything around her. Ginny was sorted into Gryffindor and sat by Percy and some other first years that were placed there. Ella saw Ginny looked a little frightened and realized that if the two hadn’t been fighting so much, Ginny probably would’ve sat next to her. The two locked eyes for a moment. Ginny glared at her with more power than Ella believed was possible.

Something was definitely not right.


	7. Mudbloods and Murmurs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following being given the grim by Trelawney, Ella discovers that maybe her doom and gloom predictions for the year are going to be a little more spot on than others believe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little late this week, but writing a novel in two months on top of fanfic is rough to say the least. Writer's block is a pain.
> 
> Oh, and I don't own Harry Potter.

Ella was fuming as she and her classmates walked to the Great Hall for lunch. Most of her classmates were still staring at her in horror. She was completely furious by their unwavering awe and belief in that stupid omen. She was even more furious that a professor would do something like this to a student. The fact she had two incompetent teachers back to back made the entire school year seem as though it was destined to be a disaster. Maybe this is what Dobby was talking about for the year. More than likely not, but it definitely felt like that at the moment.

“I’m not going to keel over this minute so would you all just mind your own business!” She snapped turning on them all. They all avoided her eyes and looked at anything else. Ella whirled back around and moved faster towards the Great Hall. She couldn’t wait to get away from all these people. Her friends would realize that this was a hoax and not treat her like this.

“Wow, I can see smoke billowing out of her ears,” George said as she sat down in between him and Fred.

Fred grinned and lifted up her hair to look into her ear, “Oh yes, I can’t even see you on the other side, George!”

Following his brother’s lead, George lifted up her hair on the other side, “Right you are, Fred.”

“Knock it off you two. I’m not in the mood,” Ella snapped at them.

Lee, getting the idea that she could and would punch the boys if she didn’t rant soon, asked, “What the matter Ella? I haven’t seen you this angry in a long time.”

Katie, who was looking around the table, questioned, “Why are there so many people looking at you? Did you snap at Trelawney too?”

“ _Too?_ ” The twins asked looking at Ella in shock. She ignored them.

“I did no such thing! Though she deserved it. That…that fraud!”

“I knew it, I absolutely knew it,” Angelina said sitting down with Alicia.

Ella nodded, “Should have listened to you.” She sat up straight and made her voice raspy, “ _A terrible incident shall come…Read the tea leaves of the future! You have the Grim!”_

“WHAT?” Fred, George, and Katie shouted, halting her imitation.

“That is nothing to joke about,” Fred told her looking truly worried.

George nodded, “We had an uncle who saw the Grim.”

“Died twenty-four hours later.” Fred finished for his brother each of them growing paler.

Before Ella could get worried, Angelina rolled her eyes, “Oh stop your worrying. Professor Trelawney always predicts someone will die each year. It’s almost guaranteed that she’ll pick a student. People will forget soon enough. All of the predictions she makes are vague and dark –nothing to worry about at all.”

Ella visibly relaxed at the news and the others seemed to as well.

“Now what did Katie mean by snapping at Trelawney too?” Fred asked Ella with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Looking away from him for fear of blushing she stated plainly, “Well, we already knew Lockhart was a pompous, full of himself git and I merely called him on it…in front of the class.”

“She got a detention,” Katie added.

“And glared at by you,” Ella reminded her.

Katie looked guilty, “Well, he’s a great man and you were rude to him. I’m not saying you didn’t have a good point, but he is a teacher.”

Fred and George laughed. George put an arm around her shoulder, “I think that Ella was completely in the right here. I’m extremely proud of her letting out her inner Weasley twin.”

“You never cease to amaze me,” Fred whispered. Ella felt her face truly flush that time. Fred seemed surprised that he said that and both of them turned away from each other.

After lunch, Ella and Katie made their way to Transfigurations. Ella didn’t want to go to a class where people were going to stare at her again, but she couldn’t miss her class either. She also wanted to dive into schoolwork where she knew what to do. Boys were too difficult.

“Welcome to your third year of Transfigurations. Like most of you have guessed, it will be harder than it was last year, but you should all be able to keep up well enough. Our first lesson this year will be over Animagi.” McGonagall explained to the already bored class. Though, she had Ella’s undivided attention. She transformed into a tabby cat with spectacle markings around its eyes. The whole class was now paying attention and clapped excitedly. Ella recognized the cat from many of her dreams.

Professor McGonagall continued back in human form, “There are very few steps to become an Animagus, but don’t be fooled by how simple they sound. The first takes the longest to accomplish, where the potential Animagus has to spend a long time studying, comprehending, and envisioning themselves in an Animagus form. The next step is casting spells in the place where they can be most connected with their mind. Finally after the animal is revealed to the person in some way, they can will themselves to become the animal.”

Ella nodded slowly thinking through her steps to become an Animagus. She figured that she had completed McGonagall’s first step and could move on to the second. She contemplated where she was most connected with her mind until she remembered the dream where she was gold. That must have been her inner self, the Animagus connection she had made. The next time she had a dream like that, she needed to start casting the spells. Her books from the library told her the correct spells to use. All Ella needed to do was memorize them so she could use them in her dream state.

_As she walked through the Hogwarts hallways, Ella felt a shiver of unease run down her spine. She wasn’t unaccustomed to the feeling, but this felt stronger than others. She could almost feel the dark presence in the hallway with her. Something was very wrong with her school, but Ella wasn’t sure what it was yet._

_She turned down another corner in the corridor and found herself facing a wall. On normal days this was an ordinary wall; today wasn’t a normal day. Ella faced a wall covered in bloody writing._

_THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE._

_Ella wondered who the enemies were and why a student would dare write something like this. Her stomach turned at the sight of the blood and she wondered if Trelawney couldn’t be far off in her prediction that something terrible would happen. She hoped this was years from now, but Ella couldn’t deny the feeling in her gut that this was going to happen very soon._

_Before Ella could stop it, the dream thrust her into a new vision. Despite her efforts, her dreams remained unruly and completely dedicated to making her nights hell. This new vision was puzzling to Ella. It was of some sort of ball. She watched couples twirl around the room while the Weird Sisters played. She recognized Cho Chang, a Ravenclaw girl in her year, dancing with Cedric Diggory. Hogwarts never had balls, so what was this? Had Cedric and Cho been dating for long?_

_Again, Ella felt her mind jerk into a new realm. This time she was with the giant black dog once more. She stared at it with wide eyes. The dog stared back._

_“Oh my god, are you the grim?” She asked it. She didn’t expect a reply, but it still worried her._

_Like the previous dream she had with the dog, golden animals soon were circling her and she looked at a golden version of herself forming in front of her. Ella was amazed by her inner self. The golden version of her looked older and wiser. She knew she grew up a lot over the summer, but it was nothing compared to her dream self. She had to be seventeen years old, give or take. Dream-Ella smiled at her younger self._

_“You’re telling me that I’m ready to start the next step of being an Animagus, right?” Ella asked herself. She nodded back in reply._

_Ella slowly closed her eyes, “Animal meum excito in me. Et anima mea in creaturam transmutes transfiguret mihi tribuat ut vult.” She chanted the phrases multiple times waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, she felt like eyes were staring at her._

Opening her eyes, Ella realized that she had been actually chanting. She was awake now and the dream was gone. Katie, clad in her Quidditch robes, was staring at her in groggy confusion. The two looked at each other for a moment before Ella got up and began changing into clothes so she could go watch their practice.

Katie remained quiet for a while before she finally asked, “What spell were you doing while you were asleep?”

“Spell?” Ella asked, deciding it would be better for her if she pretended to know nothing.

“You kept chanting something before you woke up. I was just curious if you knew what the spell was. Is there anything bad coming in the future?” Katie asked.

Ella gave her a sad smile, “Even if there was you know I couldn’t tell you.”

She nodded, “I forget sometimes.”

“I went to bed thinking I’d be free this Saturday, when did this practice get scheduled?” Ella asked Katie.

“Beats me, but I’m exhausted still. It’s way too early for this,” Katie yawned back. The girls joined with Alicia, Angelina, Fred, and George before walking to the pitch. Ella was exhausted, but she was used to this from many sleepless nights.

“Stop that,” Fred mumbled to her as they neared the pitch. He and George were leaning heavily on each other. Their hair was still a mess from sleeping. Ella thought Fred looked cute like this, not that she would ever tell him that.

Ella looked at Fred confused, “Stop what?”

Fred yawned widely, “Being so awake. It’s impolite at this hour; the world is still asleep so everyone else should be tired too. It’s unfair.”

She giggled, “I’ve just got practice with mornings. You should work on that.”

George intervened, “How about no? I prefer sleeping until the sun wakes up.”

“Speaking of sleep, did you allow Lee the pleasure of sleeping through the night?” Ella asked wondering where the last person in their group was.

“Oh right, him.” Fred slurred dosing off a little more.

“We left him. The prat can sleep all he wants,” George explained nearly incoherent.

Ella snorted and made her way up to the stands while her friends moved slowly to the changing room. She watched Harry go in after the rest of the team as a very energetic first year bounced around at his heels. Ella watched Harry sympathetically, and then watched the first year run up into another section of the stands with a camera ready to take some shots.

It seemed like the team was in the changing room for ages before they all came back into the stadium. By this time, Ron and Hermione had come into the stands to watch Harry fly, but Lee was still nowhere to be found. He probably just decided to sleep longer. The team mounted their brooms and flew around for a while.

As the team warmed up in the stadium for the first time this year, Ella found herself watching Fred and George. The two were in perfect sync all the time. She had no idea how they could be so similar and twin-like without trying. They raced Harry around the field and then stopped to watch the first year take pictures of them. Ella wondered how they could have such casual conversations at that altitude. She glanced towards the ground to see how high up they were, only to notice a group of green robes walking on the field.

Without thinking, Ella moved out of the stands and onto the field. Wood had already dismounted to go talk to the team about them being on the field. Ella arrived just as Harry, Fred, and George were touching down. The twins and Ella shared a look of brief concern mixed with annoyance at the Slytherins before tuning into the conversation at hand.

“You’ve got a new Seeker? Where?” Oliver asked the team. The Slytherins parted to show a smug Malfoy. Ella recognized him from the year before when he slipped into their train compartment. Not to mention they’d just seen him in full prat-mode at Flourish and Blotts. Fred must have forgotten the encounter or wanted to get under his skin.

“Aren’t you Lucius Malfoy’s son?” He asked looking at the boy with dislike.

The Slytherin captain, Flint, grinned, “Funny you should mention Draco’s father. Let me show you the generous gift he’s made to the Slytherin team.” The seven members of the team held out matching broomsticks, each looking very new. “Very latest model. Only came out last month, I believe it outstrips the old Two Thousand series by a considerable amount. As for the old Cleansweeps, sweeps the board with them.”

Fred and George turned the color of their hair while gripping onto their broomsticks. Ella remembered them telling her they had Cleansweep Fives and were extremely proud. The thought that this group was stomping on their pride made Ella furious. None of the Gryffindor team could think of what to say for a moment.

Ella could think of several things she wanted to say.

“Oh, look,” said Flint. “A field invasion.”

The teams watched as Ron and Hermione made their way across the field. Ron asked Harry, “What’s happening? Why aren’t you playing? And what’s _he_ doing here?”

Malfoy grinned smugly, “I’m the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley. Everyone’s just been admiring the brooms my father’s bought our team. Good, aren’t they? But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives; I expect a museum would bid for them.”

Ella grabbed onto both Fred and George’s sleeves as the lunged slightly towards Malfoy. The Slytherin team howled with laughter as Ella contemplated every hex she knew. She knew she’d never actually curse them, but she liked the thought. She also knew she couldn’t let Fred or George attack Malfoy. They’d be put in too much trouble.

“At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to _buy_ their way in,” Hermione said sharply. “ _They_ got in on pure talent.” Ella smiled at her and nodded. She was happy to see Malfoy’s smug face flicker.

“No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood,” he spat.

A roar went through the Gryffindor team at the foul name. Ella’s hands fell from the twins’ sleeves in shock. She hadn’t heard that name in a while and hadn’t expected Malfoy to use it in front of so many people. Flint leapt in front of Malfoy as the twins jumped towards him. Alicia shrieked, _“How dare you!”_ While Katie and Angelina looked between Ella and Hermione to see their reactions. The commotion didn’t end until a flash of green light erupted from someone’s wand. Ella looked around desperately to see Ron shot back several feet and spitting out slugs from his mouth.

The Gryffindor team gathered around Ron while the Slytherins were doubled over in laughter. Ella’s eyes narrowed in anger. She took out her wand and pointed it towards their group while remembering a curse that she read a while ago.

“ _Asinus risus,_ ” she whispered then quickly turned towards the Gryffindors. Harry and Hermione were leading a pale Ron towards Hagrid’s hut while the rest of the team was trying to calm down before facing the Slytherins again.

They all spun around when they heard a loud bray. Malfoy’s hand covered his mouth in shock. The rest of the team began to laugh but quickly realized they were braying too. It was the Gryffindor team’s turn to laugh. The Slytherins all made a hasty retreat to the hospital wing while the Gryffindors laughed at them. The whole team laughed at their fleeting form except for Ella. She just watched them going while thoughts poured into her head.

Katie seemed to notice right away, “Ella, are you alright?”

Ella looked at her concerned eyes, “I’m fine. I think I’m going to head up to the castle for some breakfast. I’ll see you guys later.” With that, Ella walked a little too quickly back to the school. She didn’t stop at the Great Hall; she went all the way up to the dorms. What little appetite she had that morning was gone.

In the Common room, Ella got out homework and started to work on it. She sat at a table and threw herself into the work in an attempt to forget about what had happened earlier. She hadn’t heard that word since her first year with Zahareth. She didn’t care for it then because it was only Zahareth, but now that Malfoy had spewed it, Ella realized there were others who were like him.

“We thought you’d be here,” Angelina said gently as she walked in the Common room. The rest of the Quidditch team stood behind Angelina still looking a bit angry at the Slytherins.

“You found me,” Ella whispered not wanting to meet anyone’s eyes.

Alicia who seemed very upset earlier about the name was next to speak, “Ella, we’re your friends and you can talk to us. It’s obvious that you’re angry and we want you to know that we’re here for you.” The group nodded at her in support. Ella stood up and took a deep breath to try to calm herself.

“This isn’t an easy thing to describe. You’re all very open-minded people, but you don’t come from the same place I do. Telephones confuse you, metro ways confuse you –the world I lived in for a large part of my life mostly confuses you. You’re all half-bloods or pure-bloods. You’re accepted into this world whole heartedly and the worst insult they can give is blood traitor, but even that is rarely used. I don’t have that sort of acceptance from this world.

“Mudblood. Literally, dirty blood. Bad blood. Blood that _has_ never and _will_ never be pure. People like Malfoy believe that my blood is dirty and will taint the world. In a way, they’re right because anytime a Mudblood and pure-blood mix, a half-blood is born. People like me aren’t supposed to exist because how are two Muggles supposed to create a child with magic? The reason Muggle-borns exist is a complete mystery; it makes no sense to any of us how we come to be. And that name –Mudblood –it’s our reminder, my reminder that I don’t fully belong here in this world and I don’t belong in the Muggle World either.

“You’re all so kind and caring that you get horribly upset at the mention of this word, but do you understand its full meaning? It might be insinuating dirty blood, but it’s saying outcast where ever we go. It’s their way of reminding us that we’ll never fully be accepted, like a stamp across our foreheads and I hate it. I hate being reminded of that because I barely even fit into this world with my dream abilities much less my blood. So yes, I’m angry and upset, but how can I not be when I always will have a chance of being judged merely by my parentage not by who I am?” 

A shocked silence followed, and Ella swallowed the lump in her throat that had slowly grown through her explanation of the vile word that reminded her of her lack of belonging. Her friends looked at one another unknowing of how to break the tension that was mounting in the room. Ella looked at them all hopelessly.

“You’re right.”

Everyone turned towards the person who spoke up. Katie looked at all of her friends waiting for one of them to try and correct her. No one spoke; they were too shocked.

Katie continued, “We will never understand the true burden of that word. We can never hope to understand what it’s like to be a Muggle-born. Nevertheless, you’re still accepted by us.”

“Of course she is –she’s bloody brilliant,” George piped in.

“The brightest witch in her year,” Fred spoke with admiration.

Angelina smiled, “A girl who may not be accepted by everyone, but will always be accepted by her friends because she is an amazing person. We’re your friends Ella, we don’t care whether you’re a pure-blood, half-blood, or Muggle-born. To us, you’ll always belong.”

Fred and George each walked up to Ella and hugged her together. Then her other friends joined in making Ella feel truly at ease. Tears welled in her eyes, but Ella refused to let them fall. She wanted to be purely happy without tears to mar that. Whether or not the tears were happy didn’t matter, she wanted to see her friends clearly and without anything in her eyes.

 _“Nice hex,”_ Ella heard George whisper in her ear and she grinned at his ability to notice little things others couldn’t.

Eventually, the day carried on normally as the twins and Lee went off to prank while Ella and the girls worked on their homework. As evening began to fall, Ella made her way to the dungeons and to Snape’s classroom. Lockhart was forcing her to complete her detention, but he was helping Harry serve his while Ella went to Snape’s.

“Hello Professor,” she said while entering the classroom.

Snape sneered at her like all Gryffindors, “You’ll be sorting potion ingredients for the next hour and a half.” He showed Ella what ingredient to put in what box then sat behind his desk to grade papers. Ella kept up the mundane task for an hour while glancing at the teacher who’d been her salvation a few years before. She still couldn’t fully understand why he was so rude to all the Gryffindor students.

“Professor, why is Lockhart even teaching here?” Ella asked suddenly. Snape looked up from his work.

“Dumbledore couldn’t find anyone else to fill the position.”

Ella gave him a curious look, “Except for you, that is. But he won’t let you teach Defense Against the Dark Arts.”

He glared at her, “No, he won’t.”

She smirked, “Well that’s a good thing, isn’t it? The position is cursed and if you were to take the position, he’d lose his most trusted ally.”

Snape gave a humorless laugh despite himself, “What makes you believe I’m his most trusted ally?”

“Do I need to even explain myself at this point?” She asked him rhetorically.

After a long pause where Ella sorted the ingredients, Snape asked, “What did you do to even receive this detention? Lockhart seemed extremely upset about whatever it was.”

“I informed him that he was being incredibly pompous,” Ella stated. Snape chuckled a bit then went back to checking the papers. Ella continued sorting the potion ingredients until her time was up. She left the dungeons and made her way up to the dormitories. Only a few people were awake and finishing up homework when she returned. She didn’t stop to chat with any of the other students, she was much too tired. Instead, Ella went upstairs and got into bed. It didn’t take long until she was thrust into the most terrifying dream she had ever had. 


	8. The Deathday Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella's year is flying by with struggles to get a handle on her dreams, but there is still a lot of joy to be had. Her first trip to Hogsmeade is on Halloween, and she's ready for it to be the best day of the year so far. Even with her dreams, she never guessed what was coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Harry Potter.

_Ella fell into a gentle sleep originally. She was floating in a pool of darkness while basking in the nothingness of her dream. If she had her way, she’d stay in this state of relaxation forever. Floating in empty space seemed like the perfect break from the constant movement of her normal dreams. She let her entire body go limp and remained drifting in the cool air wondering how long she would get to stay in this amount of bliss –not very long apparently._

_She tensed as she felt her suspended body begin to freefall. There was no floor below her, no sign of ground anywhere. Ella let out a desperate scream as she plummeted further into nothingness. Her heart leapt into her throat and she found it beating painfully as she fell faster. Ella watched beneath her and soon a speck appeared. Ella prayed that the impact would kill her quickly. Though, she’d rather not die at all._

_The impact didn’t kill her, but Ella remained on the ground in pain for several minutes gasping for air. It didn’t feel like she broke anything, but Ella noticed it was nearly as dark as it had been in the suspended part of her dream. A full moon was the only thing that illuminated the inky sky. Ella felt the dewy grass under her as she tried to build up the strength to sit up._

_A snarl alerted her that taking in her surroundings would be beneficial to her safety. As she lifted her head towards the noise Ella noticed the fur and large claws._

_“No way,” she breathed as she locked eyes with a werewolf. The creature was massive and locked on her. She began to scurry backwards quickly, but the damage was already done. The werewolf was on all fours and slashed at Ella, catching her arm. She yelped as she fell backwards into a new dream._

_This time, she was out of breath in the dream. She felt herself on cold, hard ground and looked around as people ran screaming. Ella found herself unable to move as a pack of men in masks marched around, what appeared to be, a camp site. The shrieks of people all around only heightened Ella’s fears. She knew that these men weren’t friendly. Ella closed her eyes tightly, praying for a new dream._

_“Rip…tear…kill.” Ella heard the hissed whispers echoing through the hallways. She opened her eyes and was only slightly relieved at her new surroundings. The hissing voice made her weary of the school._

_Ella looked around the empty hallway, “Who’s there?”_

_“Come…come to me…Let me kill you…” The voice hissed at her. Ella turned around to try and walk the opposite direction, but a large mirror was in her path. She looked into the reflective surface and saw bright yellow eyes._

_Her heart stopped._

_She blinked quickly and tried to get a deep breath, but she was barely able to calm herself down. She noticed that while she wasn’t paying attention, the dream had changed once more. It was the Animagus portion of the dream and Ella had never been happier to see the golden animals or her golden self. Ella began to chant her spell again, but she kept her eyes open this time._

_The other version smiled at her and lifted a hand towards her. Ella kept chanting as she lifted her hand up towards herself. The two girls were nearly touching palms when Ella realized things were wrong. A black substance that was similar to the golden counterpart began taking over the dream at a rapid pace. Ella found her dream self morphing into a new creature, but it was certainly not her Animagus._

_Ella watched in silent horror at the thing that was floating in front of her. She could see her breath in the cold air and shivered. The cloaked thing in front of her sucked in a rattling breath before it shot at her. Every happy memory she possessed was gone as its glistening, skeletal fingers clamped around her neck. Ella struggled at first, but despair and doubt puddled in her brain._

She jerked upwards in her bed gasping for air. Ella had tears streaming down her face that wouldn’t stop. Without waking anyone she moved slowly towards the door of the dormitory and let herself out into the Common Room.

This is where she would go every night for several months as she had these horrifying dreams. Ella would sit in front of the dying embers of the fireplace and write what she saw down on spare parchment until she felt better. As soon as she was calm again, she would throw what she had written into the fire and watch it burn.

Early one October morning, Ella found herself scribbling about the dream as rain pounded against the windows of the Common Room. She heard scurrying feet across the floor and looked up to see Scabbers, Ron’s pet rat, running across the floor. In two strides, Ella was next to the rat and scooped him up.

“Where are you running off to?” She asked bringing Ron’s pet to the table. It squeaked its indignations.

Ella chuckled and set it down on the table, “Oh relax, I’m just making sure you don’t get killed before Ron can wake up and come get you. Why are you up?” The rat looked up at her with semi-intelligent eyes. She sighed continuing, “Well, I’m up because I can’t sleep. I’ve got too many nightmares about the future. It’s not looking very bright, Scabbers. And I’ll let you in on a secret –I hate seeing the future with a passion. It’s completely inconvenient and downright awful.”

Scabbers squeaked sympathetically and looked about the room. Ella sighed and released the rat figuring that she probably shouldn’t hold him captive too long. He scurried away towards the boy’s dormitory once more, and Ella went back to writing her dreams until she felt calm once more and the sun was beginning to rise.

When the day actually began, Ella was happy to hear about the Hogsmeade trip that all the third through seventh years would be taking the next day, which happened to be Halloween. Even the Divinations class with Trelawney didn’t seem to be that bad.

As was usual, Ella and McLaggen sat across from each other. They still couldn’t handle being around each other outside of Divinations, but they each hated the class equally. It was a complete farce so they were able to get along with cracking jokes the entire time.

“Mind if I join you?” Cho Chang asked them both.

They shared a looked and Ella smiled, “Not at all.”

She smiled back then glanced at where she sat previously, “Thanks, those two take everything in here far too serious. You both look like you’re having fun and know that this class is mostly a joke. Besides, if Ella thinks it’s a joke, no one else should be able to take it seriously.” 

“What do you mean by that?” Ella asked Cho.

Cho laughed, “Everyone in our year knows you can see the future, it’s common knowledge. News here spreads like wildfire as you know, so naturally everyone knows that about you.”

“How do you know I still can? Maybe I’ve lost that ability,” Ella countered.

“Well, then I guess I can still have fun in this class with someone who finds Trelawney as phony as I do. Anyways, have you two heard about my boyfriend?” Cho asked with a smile. Ella knew she must have been talking about Cedric from her dream.

“Yes, you and Cedric are adorable,” Ella replied casually.

“Ha!” Cho shouted making several people turn their heads towards her.

Ella looked at her curiously, “What?”

Smiling triumphantly Cho stated, “I don’t have a boyfriend and I’ve never even talked to Cedric Diggory. Obviously, you saw that in the future.”

“How did you know I saw you had a boyfriend in the future?” Ella asked her bewildered. She wasn’t some fortune-teller who saw everyone’s soulmate.

Cho shrugged, “I didn’t, it was just an attempt. I wanted to see if I’d have a boyfriend in the future and if you hadn’t seen it, I’d find something else to ask about.”

For a moment, Ella was angry but it faded quickly, “That was clever.”

“Being a Ravenclaw has its perks. Are you both excited to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow?”

Ella smiled, “Couldn’t be more excited. Tomorrow seems like it’s going to be a fantastic day.”

McLaggen jumped in, “I hear they’ve brought in a troupe of dancing skeletons for the feast tomorrow night.”

Cho nodded, “I’ve heard the same; I just hope there are no trolls this year.” Trelawney entered at this time and all the conversations stopped. Ella hoped that a day would come where Trelawney would stop looking at her with the pity of a dead person.

The next day dawned bright and early with fewer dreams than the night before. Ella and Katie rushed to get ready and head downstairs to meet up with their friends in the Great Hall. The group teamed up and headed out the door of the castle. Filch stood in the entry way making sure no one tried to sneak out to go to Hogsmeade. It was a rather warm day, which they were all thankful for. After all the rain they’d been having, it was magnificent to finally see some sun light.

“So what would you like to see first?” Fred asked her smiling.

Ella shook her head, “I don’t even know where to begin; where would you suggest?”

“I suggest everywhere, but we should definitely go to Zonko’s. They’ve got the best prank supplies –it’s amazing,” Fred explained lighting up. Ella looked over to see that George was talking to Angelina. It was a little odd to not have both twins together and talking to the same person, but Ella liked having Fred’s attention.

“Alright, but I want to go to Honeydukes as well. A magical sweet shop is much too good for a Muggle-born to pass up,” Ella remarked and Fred nodded in agreement. As they walked down, the two of them discussed Gryffindor’s chances at the Quidditch Cup and prank ideas for the year.

The group made their way around the village taking in all of the sights it had to offer them. The fourth years took the time to briefly explain to Ella and Katie where all the best places were and the girls seemed to have trouble keeping their mouths from hanging open.

“Here’s the Shrieking Shack,” Angelina pointed to them. The group stood at the fence in front of a broken house.

Fred whispered to Ella, “It’s supposed to be the most haunted place in Britain.” She looked at the house for a moment then closed her eyes. It was unexpected but she could see a scene from inside the house being played out in her head.

The dog and werewolf from her dreams, though they looked much younger, were accompanied by a stag and…Scabbers? Ella shook her head to see if the vision would shift somehow to make sense of what she saw, but she had no such luck. It was a werewolf, stag, the black dog, and a younger-looking Scabbers in the Shack. She supposed it could be any old rat, too. It did have all its toes after all while Scabbers did not. Ella couldn’t decipher what she was seeing regardless.

“Earth to Ella…We’re going to go back and go into the shops in town. Are you coming?” Fred asked her. Ella blinked a few times as she glanced at her friends.

“Of course I am,” she replied and began walking away from the shack. Ella’s mind was racing with the idea that she had seen some vision of that house without being asleep. What could that possibly mean?

Angelina guided them back through and once again pointed out some shops that they had seen on the way to the Shrieking Shack, “That’s Hog’s Head –it’s really dark and grimy in there. I suggest The Three Broomsticks if you want some Butterbeer, it’s much nicer. That’s Madam Puddifoot’s but I definitely wouldn’t suggest going in there.” Angelina and Alicia giggled and the boys groaned.

“Why not? What happened?” Katie asked curiously.

Lee rolled his eyes, “Nothing that bad, we just accidentally walked in there last year when we first were allowed to go to Hogsmeade.”

Alicia laughed, “The look on your faces was priceless.”

George huffed, “Well we weren’t expecting such a girly shop to be out here. Honestly, it’s all pink and lacey and sickening. Couples go there just to drink coffee and snog.”

“Sounds cute,” Katie smiled.

“Sounds nauseating,” Ella countered unwilling to meet Fred’s eyes.

The group passed the shop by and ended up buying Butterbeer from The Three Broomsticks up the street. Ella wasn’t sure if she liked it. The taste was sweet and it warmed her insides up uncomfortably. George noticed the disagreeing expression on her face right away.

“It’s better on colder days,” he assured her. “You’ll have to try it again in the winter.” The next stop was Zonko’s where Fred, George, and Lee stocked up on prank supplies. Ella had fun looking at all the wizarding inventions and seeing how they worked.

For the last portion of the trip to Hogsmeade, the group made their way inside of Honeydukes. Ella’s eyes widened with shock and child-like wonder at the sight of all the magical candies. She never had many sweets because of her parent’s no-fun attitudes, and Honeydukes was like something out of her wildest fantasies. She walked up and down the store glancing at the brightly colored magical food unknowing that someone else was watching her.

Fred stood back and watched the amazement flood Ella’s features. He was in awe at how much everything in the world he was from astounded her. He wasn’t oblivious to the fear and fatigue in her eyes, yet here she was, forgetting about whatever bad thing was coming and soaking in all of Honeydukes. While Fred observed Ella, George stood apart from them both and watched his brother fall in love with his best friend. The other twin smiled at the two of them. There was some spark between them that George wasn’t a part of. He felt like he should have been jealous, but he wasn’t. He wanted them to be together. George would love to have Ella truly become a member of the Weasley family.

The group made their way back up to the castle and to the feast. Though their stomachs were full, the group knew they would make room for whatever had been made for that evening. Halloween really was the best holiday at the castle; Ella liked it even better than Christmas. Hagrid had grown some pumpkins to giant proportions, and they now floated around the Great Hall. The dancing skeletons were both amazing and hilarious as they lost some appendages while they moved around. There were mountains of food that the House-Elves had really out done themselves in making. Its scent was mouthwatering and the taste was like heaven, even in Ella’s sweet stuffed stomach.

“I think this is the best Halloween we’ve had to date,” Lee said through a mouthful of food. The twins nodded having their face filled with food as well.

Slowly but surely, the feast came to an end. Everyone stood up and began to walk towards the Grand Staircase that would take each of the Houses to their Common rooms. Ella and her friends stayed close together while chatting happily about everything they loved about that year’s feast as well as their plans for their Hogsmeade goodies. None of them noticed the crowd had come to a halt in front of a wall that Ella’s dreams had accustomed her to. A gasp echoed through the crowd and reached the set of friends who looked up towards the cause of the sudden silence.

Ella’s face blanched. Mrs. Norris was hanging by her tail from a torch bracket. The cat was as stiff as a bored and her normally calculating eyes were wide and unmoving. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood in shock at the sight of the cat and all the people. The wall was straight out of Ella’s nightmares. A warning for all to see.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE.

“Enemies of the Heir beware! You’ll be next Mudbloods!” Malfoy stated inching forward in the crowd. A grin etched along his face as his revelation echoed through the hushed student body.


	9. Gilderoy Lockhart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of classes is underway at Hogwarts and Ella learns that her class schedule this year is going to be a lot more interesting than she initially expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Harry Potter.
> 
> Last one, and we are all caught up! Back to the regularly schedule Monday updates!

_Ella stood in the middle of a bunch of flashing images. She was in a dream, but she was also training herself. Dumbledore said that she was the only one who could control her dreams which meant she needed to start immediately._

_“Come on, focus!” She chided herself as the images began to swirl at a disorienting pace. She closed her eyes and reached her hand into the images. They all felt like water slipping between her fingers until she grasped something more solid. Like a smooth pebble, if she didn’t focus, she would lose the stone in the watery images once again. She opened her eyes to find she was holding onto an image of the future. Ella let out a laugh at the sight in front of her letting her guard down for a moment to celebrate her success._

_She glanced at the fragment in her hand. Ella looked at a rocky arena that couldn’t have been on the Hogwarts campus. A dragon sat on the rocks and spectators cheered. All Ella wanted to know was where this was and why it was happening. Her eyes narrowed and she began to focus on the fragment more intensely._

_Immediately, she realized her mistake._

_The other images that had already become restless when she first let her guard down decided that her focus couldn’t be only on the one vision. So naturally, they attacked._

Ella shot up and gasped for air. She should’ve known that she couldn’t control her dreams that easily. Things had never been that easy for her. The other visions had pressed down on her until she felt like death was more likely than waking up. She was thankful that the latter had been the outcome, not the former. She looked towards the window and noticed the sun was just beginning to rise, but there’d be no way she’d ever get back to sleep now.

For once, her roommates hadn’t been woken up by her, and she was glad. Often when Ella bolted up heaving in more air than a marathon runner, her roommates suffered and were also woken up at ungodly hours. Ella hated that she did this to people who cared about her like Katie and the other girls she shared a dorm with. They didn’t deserve to be woken up by her and her constant stream of nightmares.

After getting dressed, she headed downstairs to get a good breakfast before her first day of third year. When she entered the Great Hall she saw only two or three students per house. Percy Weasley was the only person from Gryffindor sitting at the table. He had a small meal in front of him and was studying his class schedule with a lot of focus.

“Any difficult classes?” She asked taking a seat next to Fred and George’s elder brother. Sometimes she had to remind herself that the three boys were related. Ella enjoyed the twins more so than their rule abiding brother, but he was nice to talk to sometimes. Ella knew that Percy would always take her seriously, and she sometimes feared the twins wouldn’t.

Percy jumped slightly but relaxed when he saw it was Ella. “Loads, but they shouldn’t be too hard for my handling. I need to keep my studies up though if I want to be Head Boy next year.”

Ella rolled her eyes, “Do you have any doubt that you wouldn’t be? I hope my schedule isn’t too pressing…”

“I’m sure you could handle just about anything thrown at you,” Percy shrugged and Ella smiled. Coming from him it was quite a compliment.

“So how’s the girlfriend?”

“Still not being brought up to my siblings, I hope,” he shot back at her. Percy’s eyes flicked to a girl at the Ravenclaw table. Ella followed his gaze to see who the mystery girl was.

Her eyes widened, “Penelope Clearwater? The Ravenclaw Prefect?”

“Shut up,” he hissed as his face turned the color of his hair.

“It’s cute. I’m not going to tell anyone, but she does seem like the kind of girl you’d go for anyways. She’s smart and a Prefect. It’s a good match,” Ella deduced with a grin.

Percy rolled his eyes, “Like you and my brother?”

Ella’s face paled and she spluttered, “Wh-what do you mean? I have no idea what you are trying to say, but you must be confused…”

He laughed at her nervous chatter, “Relax, am I really going to tell who you are interested in when you have Penelope to hang over my head? Now, which of my brothers is the lucky one? To be honest, I can’t even understand how you’d pick one. I can barely tell them apart on a good day, but deciphering which one would be the better boyfriend would be beyond me.”

“It’s not really something I did consciously. I just got a feeling about Fred and it was more than the brotherly feeling I have with George. I didn’t really weigh the options and pick which one would be better. I just got feelings for him,” Ella tried to explain and Percy nodded. During their talk, more people had started to arrive in the Great Hall to start their day.

“Well, there’s your group of friends, you should probably go before you have to explain to them why you were talking to Percy the Prat.” Percy’s tone was joking, but Ella could hear the bitter edge in it. She gave him a small smile before running off to her friends.

As she sat with the twins, Katie, and Lee, McGonagall came around and gave each of them their schedules. Ella quickly scanned the paper before looking at her friends to see if their schedules looked as unfortunate as hers.

“Do you two have that Lockhart prat today as well?” Fred huffed looking at his schedule in disgust.

Before Ella could respond, a blushing Katie snapped, “Don’t call him that! He’s a brilliant man who’s done may brave things.”

“We have him first,” Ella deadpanned and Katie shot a glare at her much to the boys’ amusement. Before Katie could retort with more of Lockhart’s achievements an explosion of sorts erupted further down the table.

“ –STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY’D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON’T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE –”

Ella and the twins looked at each other with wide eyes. The twins seemed slightly amused at what was happening, but Ella was confused. Mrs. Weasley’s voice was echoing around the Great Hall at a near deafening magnitude. Silverware rattled on the table and dust fell from the ceiling. It seemed as though the entire Great Hall was listening to Mrs. Weasley, which they were.

“ –LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN’T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED –ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED –YOUR FATHER’S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT’S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE’LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME.”

The silence in the room was deafening as Mrs. Weasley went silent. Ella had no idea what had just happened and couldn’t get her mouth to work right. A few minutes passed and after a little laughter, people began to talk again.

“What was that?” Ella asked her friends who were in a similar shocked state. This prompted both twins to start laughing.

“It’s called a Howler,” Fred told her before cracking up again.

George continued for his brother, “It’s a magical letter that, well I think you know.”

Ella shook her head, “That was awful; I’d never want to get one of those.”

Fred shrugged, “Even we haven’t managed to get a Howler before. I guess we’re in the clear for pranking this year, George.”

“I’d sure say so. Anything we do now is going to look like nothing compared to flying dad’s car to school. Ron’s given us a free pass to cause as much mischief as we please,” George replied happily.

“Right, just not too soon otherwise Mrs. Weasley will probably bring you two home instead,” Ella warned them grinning.

Lee snorted, “That’d be a real shame, because while Ella and I are good at mischief, we wouldn’t be able to keep up to Weasley Twin legacy.”

“Any who, we’ve got the prat after your class,” George explained.

“Try to not hex him too bad before we get a shot,” Fred told her with a wink. She blushed slightly. Ella wondered if he liked her back or if was being his joking self. She figured it was more likely that he was just being funny. 

“Well, c’mon Ella, we’d best be going!” Katie exclaimed while gathering all her supplies.

“Go where?” Ella asked her. “Class isn’t starting for another twenty minutes. We’ve plenty of time before anyone else goes to the class room.”

Katie stood up, “Don’t you want to show our new professor what good students we are? This is our chance to make a very good first impression.”

Ella looked over at the boys who were having trouble holding in their laughter. She stood and left with Katie before any of them could embarrass her. Ella didn’t want Katie to get cross with the boys if they offended her with their thoughts on Lockhart.

No one, not even Lockhart, was in the room when the girls got there. Katie chose the desk in the very front of the classroom to sit at. Ella sat beside her for support, but was not looking forward to being too close to the man who was so…so _prattish_ at Flourish and Blotts. She had to repress the urge to curse or hex while he prattled on about he and Harry making the front page, she couldn’t imagine him here. Would he be better? Unlikely. He’d probably be worse if anything.

While the girls waited Ella became more aware of how tired she was. Never getting a goodnight sleep was beginning to take its toll on her. She propped her arm up on the desk and rested her head in her hand. She merely wanted to rest her eyes, but her body seemed to have a different idea.

_Ella’s eyes opened and she wondered whether or not she was awake or asleep. She was in the spot she was in moments before she closed her eyes and Katie was still next to her. The only difference was that the room was now filled with everyone and Professor Lockhart stood in the front of the room with a pile of papers._

_As her eyes searched the room, she noticed all the girls seemed to be nearly drooling over the man. She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. He passed out the papers to all of them and she looked down to see all of the questions were about him. She was about to protest, then all of the answers began to flicker in front of her eyes. Ella was shocked but quickly took them all to memory._

“Wake up!” Katie shouted at her. Ella jolted forward and nearly ended up falling out of her chair.

“Sorry, I was just resting my eyes,” she responded while looking around the room. Everything was looking as it had in her dream. She found this odd; she’d never dreamt something that occurred minutes after waking up. As soon as everyone sat down, Ella began having a serious case of déjà vu.

Lockhart cleared his throat until no one made a sound. He flashed a smile at the class and Ella could hear some of the girls in the room melt. He moved over towards her table and picked up her book. As he did this, he flashed her a dazzling smile, which she did not return.

“Me,” he stated while pointing at the book and winking. Ella felt like everything he was about to say and do was extremely scripted. “Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of _Witch Weekly’s_ Most-Charming-Smile Award –but I don’t talk about that. I didn’t get rid of the Bandon Banshee by _smiling_ at her!”

He paused for some laughter and got a few high pitched giggles from girls in the room. Most people stayed stoic, including Ella. Moving along he patted the stack of parchment on his desk.

“Well, since you’ve all got my books, I’d like to see how well you’ve read them thus far. So I whipped up a little quiz for you all to complete.” He explained passing out the test by hand. At first Ella didn’t think anything of it, but then she realized how odd it was that Lockhart was passing the tests out by hand. All the other teachers passed papers out with a simple spell; she’d rarely seen teachers actually pass out tests this way. 

As she’d seen in her dreams, Lockhart’s quiz was all about him. Ella closed her eyes and recorded the answers her dreams showed her. It was amazing how much a small nap could do. She had no idea whether this quiz would be graded, but she wanted to make sure she had the answers, as stupid as they may be.

It took a half hour for the rest of the class to give up on the quiz and finish. By the point, the girls were drooling over him once more and the boys were seething. Ella just rolled her eyes. This position was cursed anyway, so Lockhart would last the year then be gone.

“Tut tut, this is very poor performance. I had hoped that my first class would have more correct answers. You’d all better hope to study harder if you want to pass my class,” Lockhart reprimanded them.

“You realize it’s _your_ class as in you’re the teacher, not a class about you, right?”

The entire class turned to Ella in shock. Ella’s eyes widened in shock; she had never spoken like that to a teacher of all people. Lockhart seemed to be shocked as well. All the girls in the room were glaring at her, but the boys were smiling.

One of the Gryffindor boys shouted, “Atta girl!” Lockhart glared at the boy briefly then turned back to Ella.

“What’s your name?”

“Ella Worthington, sir,” she stated looking up at him. She had no idea where this defiance was coming from, but she sort of enjoyed the feeling. This animosity towards Lockhart had been growing since he embarrassed Harry and acted as though Mr. Weasley’s fight had been a publicity stunt. She hated his larger than life behavior. It reminded her of the snake Zahareth who bullied her the entirety of her first year until he moved to a new school.

“Ah, let’s see here,” Lockhart murmured looking through the papers until he found hers. Lockhart scanned all of the questions, undoubtedly trying to find an incorrect answer. After reaching the last question for the second time he shot her a look of disbelief.

She smiled, and decided to push her luck a little further, “Is there a problem, Professor?”

He looked at her in shock, “You answered every question correctly.”

“That’s the point of a quiz, isn’t it?”

“Well, yes, but –” Lockhart stumbled.

Ella sighed, “But you didn’t expect the student to call you out on this quiz being ludicrous? I assure you, it’s what the rational students in this room are thinking.” The professor seemed to finally realize that he was the teacher and she was the student.

Lockhart threatened, “One more word and you’ll be spending time in detention.”

“Pompous,” she stated.

After writing her up for a detention, he continued discussing their curriculum for the year. Ella spent the rest of class feeling Katie’s glare on her, but she wasn’t completely worried about it. Soon she’d realize that Lockhart was a pompous git like others already knew and she’d be happy Ella stood up to him.

When class was finished, they walked out of the classroom and Katie seemed to have at least partially forgiven Ella’s uncharacteristic outburst already. The two walked towards the moving staircases and Katie turned to her.

“I have Muggle Studies next, so I’m going to assume that you’re not in that class.”

Ella shook her head, “No, I’ve lived with Muggles, I don’t need to study them. I’ve got Divinations.”

“This is…odd,” Katie whispered.

“What is?” Ella asked her friend.

Katie shrugged, “It’s the first time we haven’t had a class together.”

“You’re right, that is odd,” Ella said. The two girls had sat side by side since day one. Ella couldn’t imagine being in a class without her. “Well, I best be off to Divinations. It’s quite a ways away and I don’t need a second detention today. Have fun with the Muggles, I’ll help you with the homework if you need it!” Katie laughed and Ella made her way to the Divinations room up in the North Tower. She passed an extremely annoying painting of a knight that tried provoking her into a fight until she got up to the tower.

“Dear god, how am I supposed to make it up there?” She said to herself looking up at a trapdoor. Apparently, those were the magic words to use because a ladder came falling down. Ella climbed into a room that was absolutely awful in every way imaginable for a classroom. There were around twenty tables set up around the sweltering room with chintz chairs and fat poufs to sit on. The whole room was dimly lit and a powerful perfume swam around the room making Ella’s head spin with each breath she took. Too much time in here would be the recipe for an awful headache.

Ella moved to a table and sat down waiting for other classmates and the teacher to arrive. No doubt some students had to be lost. This classroom was by far the hardest to find in the entire school and few students were in there at the moment. As she waited, Ella opened her textbook and began reading it at a random chapter. She was nervous about this class and whether her curse would affect her or if this professor would be able to help her.

“Well, hullo there,” a husky voice said sitting down in front of her. She looked up to see a cheeky grin coming from Cormac McLaggen. The last time he had attempted to talk to her, he insulted the Weasley’s and Ella decided she wanted nothing to do with him.

She glared at him, “That seat’s taken.”

“By who?”

“Anyone but you.” She snapped icily.

McLaggen refused to move, “You certainly hold a grudge.”

“Yes, well, when someone insults your friends and tries saying that they’re infinitely better than they are, it becomes easier to hold a grudge. When someone acts as egotistical as Lockhart, it’s even easier,” Ella snapped.

He winced, “I don’t think I was as bad as Lockhart, was I? I’d hate to imagine myself passing out a quiz about my life and accomplishment. That was pretty fantastic by the way, wish I had the guts to stick up to a teacher like that.”

Ella remained unmoved, “I’m not patching things up with you. You still act like a pompous arse most of the time.”

“Sorry, I just remembered from first year that you could dream the future and wanted to learn from the master in here.” Ella was about to retort but was cut off, “No, no hear me out. You don’t have to like my perfect-self outside of this class, but for once I’m completely lost. If I’m still an arse as you call me, you don’t have to ever sit with me in here again.”

“Fine.” Ella snapped just as a soft, misty voice came from the shadows.

“Welcome, it’s so nice to see you all in the physical world,” Professor Trelawney rasped. Ella and McLaggen caught each other’s eye. This was by far the strangest looking Professor they had ever seen. She was draped in a gauzy shawl and covered with jewelry around her neck, arms, and fingers. She was rail thin and he eyes were magnified to an absurd size by her glasses.

Professor Trelawney moved slowly about the room saying, “Welcome to Divinations. My name is Professor Trelawney; many of you have probably never seen me. I tend to remain here where my Inner Eye isn’t so clouded.

 _Inner Eye?_ McLaggen mouthed to Ella who merely shrugged in return. She had no idea what this professor was going on about. Did she have an inner eye? Ella didn’t believe so, and if she did, it didn’t need a certain place to work. It probably never even blinked.

“You all have chosen to learn the art of seeing the future, the most difficult of the magical arts. I’m afraid to say that if you aren’t gifted with the Sight, there is very little I can teach you. Books only take you so far in a field like this, but I assure you, if you are gifted I can help you.” The last part she looked directly at Ella for. Before Ella could process the invitation she turned to a boy in the room and told him that he should make sure those closest to him aren’t keeping secrets from him.

“Are you buying this?” McLaggen whispered.

“Only slightly, it seems really vague and not actually predictions of the future,” she replied while Trelawney went on with how the term would go, all the while throwing in predictions.

“It is unfortunate, but I can see all but one of you returning after the winter holidays, who it is, I’m not yet sure…But a terrible incident shall come,” Trelawney drawled. McLaggen looked at Ella who merely shrugged once more. She didn’t like how every prediction this teacher made dealt with something dark or depressing. Surely the future could be happy as well.

The first assignment was reading tea leaves for the future. Ella was dreadfully confused about tea leaves giving away the future, but she did as she was told. After McLaggen and her switched their cups and opened their books, they looked at each other to begin.

“Why are you looking at me? You’re the one who’s better at this.” He stated.

She sighed, “Well I’ve never read tea leaves before. Fine, it looks slightly like a shoe, which means that you’re on the right path or weary of change. Then these look like teardrops so you will be sad about something. You’re on the right path, something will change, and that will make you sad?” Ella frowned at the platter. “This seems slightly pointless.”

McLaggen shrugged, “I guess so, but my turn.” He turned the plate several times, squinted, and looked up every so often at her. “I have absolutely no idea.” 

Professor Trelawney, overhearing that, came over to see what she could do. She snatched the dregs left from the tea and after looking at it for merely a second, dropped it. The platter shattered against the ground as she stumbled away. Ella looked at the woman in shock.

“My dear!” She trembled as she spoke, “You have the Grim!” Half of the class gasped while others looked confused. Ella was part of the confused crowd while McLaggen seemed to know what was going on.

“What does that mean?” Ella asked her professor that seemed to be having a panic attack.

“The Grim –Child –the Grim!” She cried once more. “The giant spectral dog that haunts churchyards! It’s the omen of death.” The students who already knew this looked away from Ella while the others stared horrified. Ella just sat still.

More so to herself than anyone else she whispered, _“A terrible incident shall come.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and Comments make my day! (And since I'm working on my novel for my master's, I need all the good vibes I can get.)


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